Black History Month: How Northern Ireland is becoming more accepting of different backgrounds

An African man living in Northern Ireland has told UTV society here has come a long way in accepting people from different cultures. 

Agrippa Njanina moved to Northern Ireland from Zimbabwe with his family in 2007 and has lived here ever since. 

To mark Black History Month, he has donated a traditional, African folk instrument called the mbira to the Ulster Museum. 

It is part of a special collection of artefacts called Inclusive Global Histories, an exhibition about diversity and inclusion. 

The museum is currently re-evaluating the collection to better understand the object's journeys and what their options might be for the future. 

Agrippa told UTV why he wanted to share a part of his culture: 

"In African culture we say an animal marks its territory so I think this is...a contribution to the fact that I believe that we're going to be here for future generations I think," he said. 

He added: "The fact that people of Northern Ireland have accepted us to be settled here, it's a donation to the culture."

Northern Ireland is home to a diverse range of people from different cultures. 

Many of them are unique and have different identities. 

Raquel McKee is originally from Jamaica but now calls Northern Ireland home. 

She says Black History Month is a chance to learn and educate people about diversity and inclusion:

"This year the Black History Month UK theme is time for change, action not words and I think that is what has inspired me to make sure that I'm doing something that will help to change the course of Northern Ireland's history with black history month and opportunities like this give the wider community a chance to learn about it."  

Raquel McKee is a Jamaican poet and teacher living in Northern Ireland with her family Credit: UTV

The World Cultures Collection houses around 4500 items. 

Staff are trying to better understand the complex global stories behind them and how to connect them with audiences here. 

Triona White Hamilton is the Curator of Modern History at the Ulster Museum: 

"Museums and art collections are well able to talk about some of those important and difficult legacies of the past but also talk about how we can use them to create a more shared future for example.

"We're not shying away from some of those challenging stories as well and hopefully being honest and transparent about how some of them came into the collection and engaging audiences on how to think about their future within the collection."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.