By Eric King-
Hundreds of Brits have joined the wide protests over the killing of George Floyd in Hyde Park comes as UK chief constables said they stand alongside all those “appalled and horrified” by his death.
Protests began in the U.S after a video showed Mr Floyd, 46, being arrested on 25 May in Minneapolis and a white police officer continuing to kneel on his neck even after he pleaded that he could not breathe.
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SUTR said the campaign was inspired by the kneeling protest staged by American football star Colin Kaepernick in 2016 that has become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement.
The guilty officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder.
Organisers asked people to spread their arms out to maintain a two-metre distance from each other, as crowds chanted “the UK is not innocent”.
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The protest was accompanied by an urge by campaign group Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) for Britons to “take the knee” on their doorsteps for a socially-distanced protest at 18:00 BST.
SUTR said the campaign was inspired by the kneeling protest staged by American football star Colin Kaepernick in 2016 that has become synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement.
On Tuesday evening, civic buildings in cities including London, Liverpool and Cardiff turned purple to honour Mr Floyd’s memory, with other cities around the country promising similar tributes on Wednesday evening.
“Part of the cure for the virus of racism is to embrace anti-racism and anti-fascism.”
Those attending today’s Hyde Park demo were urged to wear protective face masks and gloves.
They were also reminded to abide by social distancing rules, in line with government guidance.
Large gatherings are still banned under tweaked lockdown rules.
People taking part in Wednesday’s Hyde Park rally chanted “black lives matter” and “we will not be silent”.
Among them was Star Wars actor John Boyega who made an emotional speech to the crowd saying “black lives have always mattered”.
Boyega made reference to two other black Americans who controversially died in the US, as well as the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in London in 1993.
”We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd. We are a physical representation of our support for Sandra Bland. We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. We are a physical representation of our support for Stephen Lawrence.
I’m speaking to you from my heart.
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.”
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