Black Lives BACKLASH
Campaigner hits out after banners are torn down and racist comments appear online
A Black Lives Matter banner erected at Strathaven Castle in support of the worldwide movement was binned then blasted in a racist online backlash.
A shocked local student spoke of the shame she felt for her hometown after the scathing virtual assault on the Strathaven Facebook page.
The post picturing the binned banner has since been taken down by administrators of the community page.
But the teenager has urged her followers to continue to circulate it to spread awareness of the social ill.
And, in a defiant stance against the haters, the 17-year-old campaigner and her friends replaced the sign the following day, joined by 20 supporters who staged a peaceful two-hour protest at the local landmark.
She told the News: “Me and two friends got together a few days ago and decided to make banners to highlight the systematic oppression of people of colour going on worldwide.
“Originally we put up a painted sheet and two other signs.
“We went back two hours later and the sheet had been purposefully ripped down from the railing of our local castle.
“When posting about it on the Strathaven page we were met with lots of support, but also lots of racist backlash which is shocking behaviour that I would never expect from a small town like Strathaven, which we have grown up in for the whole of our lives.
“We spent a lot of time on the signs to bring attention to the revolutionary Black Lives Matter movement currently happening.”
The death of American George Floyd at the hands of the police has sparked antiracism protests around the globe.
Thousands of protesters took to Glasgow Green last week to stand in solidarity with the US following Mr Floyd’s death after police officer Derek Chauvin held him down by kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis last month.
In a united call for action protesters are demanding governments actively put an end to police brutality and institutional racism.
But it appears not everyone in Strathaven supports the landmark demonstrations.
She added: “We were told on the Strathaven page that we were the ones starting these riots and bringing the issue of racism to Strathaven as it would never exist here.
“People also didn’t see why we’re supporting Black Lives Matter because ‘why don’t white lives matter?’.
“There was overwhelming support though from all age groups from Strathaven – and we focus on the positives far more than the negatives because it is what motivates us.
“We went back the next day and held a peaceful protest when 20 other people showed up in support and put more signs up.
“They stayed up for two more days before police removed them for flyposting as we did not have permission to hang them there – even though the police drove by many times when we were hanging them up and beeped their horns in support.”
Undeterred by the hate, the teen is now planning ways she and her friends can spread the important message further.
“We support the Black Lives Matter movement because we find it horrifying that people are mistreated and oppressed because of the colour of their skin”, she said.
“We have many friends from school that are black and the hate and horrible comments they deal with on a day-to-day basis is very hurtful to see.
“We are now trying to figure out how we can move forward to spread the message.”