By Eric King-
Nine activists, protesting on behalf of Black Lives Matter UK have been charged with trespassing, following Tuesday’s disruptive protest on the runway at London City airport.
All nine activists were white, raising questions as to whether their involvement was cleverly orchestrated, or if they simply feel strongly about issues relating to black people.
However, some activists accused the group of hijacking the black lives mater banner under ”cultural appropriation”.
William Pettifer, 27, of Radford; Esme Waldron, 23, from Brighton; Natalie Fiennes, 25, of Wandsworth, south London; Deborah Francis-Grayson, 31, from Slough; Richard Collet-White, 23, of Kempston and Ben Tippet, 24, from Wandsworth, have been charged with aggravated trespass and being unlawfully airside within a restricted area of an aerodrome.
Sama Baka, 27, Alex Etchart, 26, and Sam Lund-Harket, 32, who are listed as living on a houseboat on the river Stort, Roydon, face the same charges.
They have been released on bail to appear at Westminster magistrates court on 14 September. Several flights were cancelled or rescheduled at the airport in Newham, on Tuesday after the heavily obstructive demonstration. Black lives matter UK is an offshoot of Black lives matter, set up in America after the police killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida in 2012.
There are several legitimate issues of racism that affect the black community, but the way it was approached yesterday was poor and at best only served to cause huge disruptions and financial looses, in a way that fails to highlight any issues they may wish to have highlighted.
All lives matter, therefore the lack of concern for the disruption caused to flights and all sorts of important meetings that may have been missed as a result of the demonstration was very bad. Flights were cancelled to Geneva, Milan, Luxembourg, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Zürich, Florence, Mallorca and Málaga. Flights to Dublin and Frankfurt were showing “indefinite delays”.
The group claimed to be protesting over the disproportionate impact of air pollution on the lives of black people in the area, and the gap in earning opportunities between staff at the airport and black people resident in the Newham area. All relevant but so odd altogether!