Refugee braves racist abuse to become Northern Ireland’s first black mayor

Lilian Seenoi-Barr, the incoming SDLP mayor of Derry, in front of the city's guildhall. Photograph: Rory Carroll/The Guardian

Lilian Seenoi-Barr will make history on 3 June when she receives the chain of office at Derry’s guildhall and becomes Northern Ireland’s first black mayor.

It will be the culmination of a personal and political journey that began in 2010 when she arrived as a refugee from Kenya and became part of the region’s growing multi-ethnic identity.