Crowds of
protesters are again gathering in cities nationwide to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the death of George Floyd.
Thousands are set to join
protests in cities across the UK, with major demonstrations organised in Edinburgh, Bristol, Glasgow and Nottingham.
Some events organised on
Facebook have seen in excess of 10,000 users saying they plan to attend.
Activists in
London will also gather outside the
US Embassy in solidarity with protesters fighting against
racism and
police brutality in the US, where demonstrations are soon to enter their second week after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man.
Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes during his arrest, has ben charged with manslaughter, while the three other officers on the scene during the killing have been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder.While protests in the US began as demands for the former officers to be charged, they have grown into nationwide demands for the law enforcement system to be reformed – with some calling for departments to be fully defunded.
As the protests grew to all 50
American states, other countries across the world began to stand in solidarity with their US counterparts and hold protests drawing attention to racism in their own countries.
In the
UK protesters have frequently highlighted instances of police brutality and BAME deaths in custody, as well as the Windrush scandal, the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Home Office’s hostile environment policies and the death of ticket officer Belly Mujinga.
Sunday’s protests follow action across the country on Saturday, when tens-of-thousands of people joined largely peaceful protests in both major cities and smaller towns.
Protesters are marching in defiance of social distancing rules put in place to prevent the spread of Covid-19, under which mass gatherings are still prohibited, but many have spoken out to describe the importance of protesting against racism in spite of the pandemic.
Many attendees were seen wearing masks and moving wherever possible in socially-distanced small groups. The majority of protests passed without incident, but tensions between demonstrators and police flared in London as the afternoon went on with mounted police charging towards protesters as some attendees threw bottles towards officers.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said on Sunday morning that 14 officers had been injured during protests.
One officer was knocked from her horse after riding into a traffic light, the Metropolitan Police confirmed.Metropolitan Police Federation chairman Ken Marsh said the officer had “quite nasty” injuries, telling
BBC Breakfast on Sunday morning: “She’s stable – she has some quite nasty injuries which she sustained. And the horse is fine.” Related... Matt Hancock Names Two Asians When Asked To Identify Black Cabinet Members Minneapolis Mayor Booed After Saying He Wouldn't 'Abolish' Police Department Mounted Police Charge Anti-Racist Demonstrators At Black Lives Matter Protest