’If I was in despair I wouldn’t get out of bed in the morning’ - Leon Diop on building a New Ireland

When he was 11, Leon Diop had his first experience of aggressive racism.

But his identity was something he wrestled with in many ways.

In a remarkable interview on Free State, Leon Diop talks about the Ireland he grew up in and being mixed race in that world.

He talks about the confusion and shame he felt about his father, a Muslim from Senegal, and how he internalised that shame for many years.

He explains how education changed him as he realised the difference between standing up for yourself and fighting for yourself.

At a time when Ireland is experiencing more racism, he says he might be frightened but he refuses to despair.

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