The Conversation | Sipa US/Alamy Live News
The images coming out of Belfast overnight on Tuesday were shocking. Violent unrest erupted in the north of the city after a man was seriously injured in a knife attack and a Sudanese migrant was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. British far-right agitators including Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (also known as Tommy Robinson) wasted no time in race-baiting. They encouraged angry white men and boys to take to the streets and vent their fury. Many did. I live in Belfast, and in a hark back to the violence of our past, houses were set ablaze and families were left fleeing for their lives. People identified as migrants (often merely people of colour) were singled out as targets.