BLM UK Protests prove that Gen Z are fearless, bold and our best hope for stifling racism in the UK
Following the death of George Floyd, murmurings of possible UK protests in support of him bounced around on the Twittersphere. It was not until June 3rd however, that things began to pick up momentum. On that day, armed with only a megaphone, acclaimed actor John Boyega stood in Hyde Park and boldly proclaimed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, his support for black women and the long list of black men who have died at the hands of police.
Boyega lit the fuse and young brits quickly followed. It was a heartfelt speech that took many by surprise considering his Hollywood background, but it was enough to stir up the hearts and minds of many of us.
On Saturday the 6th of June, I as well as thousands of other people attended BLM protests all over the UK. There was a large peaceful one in Manchester without a shred of violence. There was another peaceful one in the West Midlands with well over 4,000 people in attendance. There was even a large one in Watford that was attended by heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. I attended the one in London, Parliament Square to be specific, and when I say the turnout was crazy, you best believe that the turnout was crazy.
As soon as I exited the station, I was handed a leaflet from the socialist party and a few minutes later, a brilliant guy who I believe was most likely a volunteer, gave me some much needed hand sanitiser and a face mask. We were all looking out for each other. Whether you were white or black. 7 or 70. It did not matter. We all came for a common goal and we had no intention of doing anything that would detract from that.
Soon after I joined up with a large group of protesters. People would take turns to chant in support of Floyd and countless other black individuals, while the rest of us would echo. What I find rather peculiar is the fact that on multiple occasions, teenagers were leading the charge. These young kids were firing up the crowd with powerful, emotive words and all of us were repeating it back without hesitation. If this is not an indication of how powerful young brits are, I don’t know what is. Contrary to popular opinion, Gen Z obviously have the capacity to do a lot more than share a tweet or post a silly meme for the umpteenth time. While they may have been brought up on the internet, when push comes to shove, they actually show up. They are the first to pick up the megaphone. The first to brush aside shyness and liven up the crowd. During my time there, I did not see a single young person act out in violence. Why? They know better. No, Gen Z are not revolutionary mouse clickers, they are fiercely proud of who they are and that is the type of attitude we need to significantly stifle the spread of racism in the UK.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vuebAZLxcc&feature=youtu.be
The protest in Parliament Square was a huge success and will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest in UK history. Thousands were in attendance and the sense of camaraderie amongst each other was amazing. Some may argue that perhaps it was irresponsible for brits to protest considering how Covid-19 is still looming in the background, but for many people, collectively taking a stand against police brutality and racism makes it more than worth it.
