By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Protesters, much larger than those of May 31, have again marched on London streets riding on the crest of horror felt worldwide over the killing of George Floyd in the United States where police mistreat blacks nearly as they do in the United Kingdom.
Discrimination against black and brown people in the U.S. is overt, and can be aggressive. It is subtle and hidden in the UK but with the same pernicious effect of marginalising folks for the only reason of not being white.
Despite 400 years of discrimination in the U.S., counting from the history of slavery in Yankee country, there are still paths for people of colour to climb the social ladder – through education, politics, business, through entertainment, and sports.
Barack Obama was elected the first black U.S. president in 2008 and reelected in 2012. In both ballots, he won both the electoral votes and the majority votes; in a country where only 13 per cent of the population is black.
In both votes, a plurality of Americans chose Obama – a biracial who has a black wife and black children – over John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012; both of them white men.
That is not likely to happen in the UK any time soon, even with people of colour in senior positions – Rishi Sunak as chancellor of the exchequer and Priti Patel as home secretary – in the cabinet of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Background to black British life
The British society is built on a class system, in a descending order of royalty, aristocracy, upper class, middle class, and working class.
It is an ascribed status. People have to be born into these social classes.
Citizens, black and white, rise on the social ladder based mainly on their class origins. It is hard for them to get into the network that facilitates social mobility, particularly if they come from a working class background, no matter their education.
Because of their skin colour, the class system in the UK is especially skewed against blacks and Asians who face discrimination; first, for being in the working class, then for not being white.
On top of that, black folks in the UK are four times more likely to be stopped by police than white folks.
African Americans get criminalised and dehumanised from childhood. Diaspora blacks say this is also their experience in the UK.
Pent up emotion unleashed
The gruesome murder of Floyd in far away Minnesota helped to unleash all of the pent up emotion on the streets of London on June 3, where white compatriots also joined the march to advance the course of Black Lives Matter.
The BBC reports that thousands of people joined the protest in London, which came as UK chief constables said they stand alongside all those “appalled and horrified” by the death of Floyd.
In a joint statement, they said the right to lawful protest was a “key part of any democracy.”
But they stressed coronavirus restrictions, including not gathering in groups of more than six, remained.
Protests began in the U.S. after a video showed Floyd, 46, being arrested on May 25 in Minneapolis and a white police officer continuing to kneel on his neck even after he pleaded that he could not breathe.
John Boyega gives emotional protest speech: “Black men, it starts with you”
The Minneapolis Police have dismissed the four officers – Derek Chauvin, J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Tou Thao – involved in the murder of Floyd and now face charges.
Chauvin knelt on the neck of Floyd, and his three colleagues aided and abetted Chauvin by doing nothing to restrain him.
Johnson appalled
Johnson, the British PM, said on June 3 that Floyd’s death had been “appalling” and “inexcusable”, but was criticised for failing to comment on the killing before now.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the UK government had “shuttered itself in the hope no-one would notice.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer called on Johnson to convey to U.S. President Donald Trump the UK’s “abhorrence about his response to the events.”
Speaking later when asked about it at the coronavirus briefing on June 3, Johnson said: “My message to President Trump, to everybody in the United States from the UK is that… racism, racist violence has no place in our society.”
He said people had the right to protest but “I would urge people to protest peacefully, and in accordance with the rules on social distancing.”
Protesters in Hyde Park chanted “black lives matter” and “we will not be silent”Thousands of people marched through Westminster in central London
Reasons for protests
Demonstrators gathered in London’s Hyde Park for the protest organised by campaign group Black Lives Matter, before marching south through the city.
It followed days of protests in U.S. cities including Washington DC, Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle, after the Floyd case reignited deep-seated anger over police killings of black Americans and racism.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets there – not only to express their outrage at the treatment of Floyd – but to condemn police brutality against black Americans more widely.
In the UK, protesters marched to Victoria Station, where they hung a sign reading “Justice for Belly Mujinga” – referring to a railway worker who died with Covid-19.
Initially it was thought this may have been because she was spat at by a man claiming to have coronavirus. However, police concluded that her death was not linked to the attack.
The protesters then continued towards Westminster, where they blocked the roads outside Parliament.
A number of videos shared on social media showed protesters and police clashing outside Downing Street.
Footage showed objects, including signs and a traffic cone, being thrown at police, while one protester was wrestled to the ground and restrained by officers.
Some protesters clashed with police outside Downing Street
There was anger in the crowd, as they sat, as they listened to speeches, as they took the knee.
This is yet another generation who have painted placards and taken to the streets to march against racism.
As they started to fill Hyde Park, organisers shouted at them to spread out their arms to maintain the two-metre social distancing rule. But so many gathered, it became impossible.
Friends and families together, different ages, different races.
At the start, organisers told the BBC they were expecting about 1,000 people. But the protesters came out in their thousands.
They chanted “Black Lives Matter”, they shouted “say his name.” They said the “UK is not different” when it comes to racism. They want change.
Black and white united for change
Earlier, Star Wars actor John Boyega made an emotional speech to fellow protesters in which he said the crowds were “a physical representation of our support” for Floyd along with two other black Americans who controversially died in the U.S., and Stephen Lawrence who was killed in a racist attack in London in 1993.
He said he was speaking from his heart and did not know whether he would still have a career after speaking out.
“Today is about innocent people who were halfway through their process – we don’t know what George Floyd could have achieved, we don’t know what Sandra Bland could have achieved, but today we’re going to make sure that won’t be an alien thought to our young ones,” he said.
“I need you to understand how painful it is to be reminded every day that your race means nothing.”
Actor John Boyega with family members of railway worker Belly Mujinga
The crowds marched from Hyde Park towards Victoria station
Protesters in Whitehall took the knee to show solidarity with George Floyd
Firefighters in uniform knelt in Windrush Square, Brixton, in south LondonPolice clashes with protesters on Downing St carried on into the evening
One activist attending the protest, Brogan Baptiste, told the BBC: “It’s imperative that all of us, whether you’re black, white, that you’re involved in this because we need change and we need it now.”
Filippa, a 20-year-old student who also joined the protest, said: “I know that I’m healthy. So this felt more important than to stay inside when I have the opportunity.”
Protests also took place in other UK cities, including Belfast and Northampton.
UK police pledge to tackle racism
In their joint statement, the National Police Chiefs Council said: “We stand alongside all those across the globe who are appalled and horrified by the way George Floyd lost his life. Justice and accountability should follow.”
They said officers in the UK were “trained to use force proportionately, lawfully and only when absolutely necessary.”
However, they added: “We strive to continuously learn and improve. We will tackle bias, racism or discrimination wherever we find it.”
A police officer knelt in support outside Downing Street
Thousands of protesters gathered in London’s Hyde Park
Image copyright GETTY IMAGES
They said UK police “uphold and facilitate” the right to lawful protest and “we know people want to make their voices heard.”
But amid the coronavirus pandemic they stressed restrictions on gatherings were still in place and urged people to “continue to work with officers at this challenging time.”
This latest protest follows another on May 31, which saw thousands gather in Trafalgar Square, in central London.