Protesters lined New Malden High Street in support of the Black Lives Matter movement demanding racial justice today (Sunday June 7) joining thousands of others across the UK and the world.
Amid the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, demonstrators at the New Malden protest showed a remarkable degree of organization and discipline by physically distancing themselves from one another to minimize the chances of spreading the virus.
The protesters held signs highlighting that the UK was "not innocent" amid rampant racial injustice, and pointing out that racism is a pandemic i.e. as a global virus posing a threat to human beings.
LBC Radio Editor and Producer Henry Riley was one of those at the demonstration.
He described the atmosphere on New Malden High Street in conversation with the Comet:
"I was genuinely stunned at the sheer number of people who turned out to protest across New Malden high street this afternoon," he said.
"Many people said there were 800+ at 1pm when the protest started.
"The protest was completely peaceful and I thankfully did not see any animosity directed towards the police.
"You could hear chants of ‘Say His Name: George Floyd’, ‘black lives matter’ and ‘I cant breathe’ from a mile away," Henry added.
Good turn out on the socially distanced #blm demonstration today in New Malden. My voice is as horse as ever.
— Soph (@damebello) June 7, 2020
Respect existence or expect resistance pic.twitter.com/qyCp421ImT
Black Lives Matter calls for racial justice and an end to police brutality.
The slogan was first coined in US protests in 2013, and recently a huge wave protests under the slogan began in the US and spread to other countries after the killing of African American man George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota on May 25.
Soph was another of the New Malden protesters showing her support for the movement on Sunday.
"I went thinking I would be one of the few people there, however the turn out was brilliant," she said.
"The energy was palpable and I felt really proud of our little town.
"It's important that everyone in the community stands up for the minority groups of New Malden," Soph added.
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