Geograph - photograph every grid square

The 'Black Lives Matter' protests had been sparked by demonstrations in America in response to the killing by a police officer of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who, incidentally, had been confirmed as having contracted Covid-19, but a white police officer kneeling on his neck for minutes while Floyd was handcuffed and lying face down on the ground was what had killed him. The organisers of a 'Black Lives Matter' demonstration in Norwich on 7 June, the second day of mass protests across the UK, had taken the decision to move the protest online, urging people not to gather in close crowds or to march, but to protest from home instead because of the current Coronavirus pandemic lockdown. About 1,500 protesters had nevertheless gathered on Millennium Plain for a peaceful demonstration, almost all wearing face coverings, but finding it difficult to observe social distancing. The large and diverse crowd cheered and chanted, but fell silent as a number of speakers made their addresses, and they all came together in song in a rendition of Bob Marley's peace anthem 'One Love'.

A second event had also been taking place at the park in Eaton > Link. At one point the protesters had knelt for eight minutes and 46 seconds in memory of George Floyd, who had died after his neck had been knelt on by a police officer for that length of time. Both events were live-streamed, thus providing an alternative to those who did not wish to gather in person.

Senior black politicians and campaigners have accused the government for suggesting that the UK was not racist and for claiming that the 'Black Lives Matter' protests across the country were simply based on anger about prejudice in the US, saying that this was a sign that the government was again not listening and showed no commitment to resolving the issues of racism in the UK. The protests had attracted tens of thousands of people across the UK despite the coronavirus lockdown, and prompted activists in Bristol to pull down the statue of Edward Colston > Link , a 17th-century slave trader.

Some of the prime minister's controversial comments he has made over the years are summarised here: Link

Created: Sun, 7 Jun 2020, Updated: Tue, 9 Jun 2020