Dundee United midfielder Ian Harkes believes action will be key to enacting longlasting change he wants to see in the US. The Tangerines star has watched from afar as protests – both peaceful and violent – unfolded in his homeland following the murder of

American midfielder talks eloquently about racism issue – and reveals plans to extend Tannadice stay

When Ian Harkes took to Twitter on Monday, he did so with razor-sharp clarity of purpose.

“Watching the events that have taken place the last couple weeks in America, culminating with the murder of George Floyd, has been extremely difficult,” wrote Dundee United’s 25-year-old American midfielder.

“My heart breaks for his family and all the victims of racism and police brutality. And it has been happening for far too long. Black lives matter.

“We need to stand together against injustice and all forms of racism.

“We need to continue to educate ourselves and understand that our system is broken and has always favoured the majority (white Americans like myself). We need to vote for change.

“We need to listen and support black communities and activists who are calling for change.

“We need to spread love to all.

“I may not truly know what it’s like to be black in America, or in any place where oppression and hatred exists, but I will always stand with you.”

In a football landscape where comment is often guarded at best and completely sanitised at worst, Harkes’ words hit hard – as they were designed to. But they weren’t merely words. They came from a man with a real sense of his personal stake in the fate of his country.

They were also loaded with the knowledge that, back home in the States, family members were actively participating in protests.

Watching it unfold from the relative safety of Scotland has given Harkes plenty of time to think.

But he believes action will be key to enacting the genuine, long-lasting change he wants to see in his homeland.

“We are seeing it all over the country. There is a lot of unrest,” explained the United man.

“I think you can see from my comments on Twitter where I stand.

“I think there needs to be change and there needs to be more anti-racism voices.

“We have platforms and we need to use them and the people will continue to use the streets to make our point.”

That US citizens have continued to hit the streets despite the evident threat of violence from an increasingly militarised police force stands as evidence of the strength of feeling stirred by George Floyd’s killing.

It would be easy to characterise early protests as a howl of rage.

But Harkes believes that steely determination is gradually replacing explosive anger among participants – and spreading through the silent majority.

“Most of the protests have been peaceful. We certainly don’t want to see the violence and the looting,” he said.

“The feeling is so strong just now and that has been shown with so many people coming out to protest.

“It shows there are still so many things that are wrong and that need to change in American society.

“The good thing is that people are aware there needs to be change, but the fact we are still having to deal with these issues, and the murder of George Floyd, in 2020 is still very sad to see.

“The one positive from all this is all the people who are now trying to force change.

“We have to do all we can to make sure it happens.

“A lot of my family were at the protest along with my fiancée.

“They all went down and were involved in the peaceful protest. Everybody was looking to get involved because it is such an important topic.”

By comparison, football is mere bread and circuses.

However, its distraction has proved useful in a tough week for Harkes.

Courier Sport published news on Monday that the classy midfielder was set to sign a new two-year deal at Tannadice.

It is a story Harkes was only too happy to confirm.

“When everything opens up I should hopefully sign a new contract,” he said.

“It has been great that the club wanted to engage in talks over an extension and I am very happy at the club, so everything looks good.

“I spoke when I first came over and said I thought it would be good to experience a new league and to add new things to my game. I believe I have done that at Dundee United.

“The physicality and pace of the game is a lot bigger and quicker than in the States.

“I have worked on my fitness and my speed of play and that has helped me.