Aidan Smith

By

Two arms, one black the other white, linked together for a common cause. Two young men, one from Ohio and the other from a great Scotland rugby dynasty, marching in protest at the killing which shocked the world. Scott Hastings is a Grand Slam immortal although it is this striking image which is making him proudest right now.

The photograph would be a powerful poster for Black Lives Matter but in Hastings’ home in Inverleith, Edinburgh, it is another family snap for the 65-cap centre, his wife Jenny and their daughter Kerry-anne.

The white arm belongs to Hastings’ son Corey and the black arm to Corey’s husband Daniel. On 30 May, five days after George Floyd suffocated under the knee of a police officer, sparking global revulsion, outrage and demonstrations, the pair took to the streets of San Francisco. Meanwhile, 5,000 miles away, Hastings held his breath.

“Corey sent us a message,” says Hastings. “Just in case anything happened to him,” adds Jenny who reads it out:

“Dear Mum, Dad and Kerry-anne, today I’m joining a peaceful protest, unarmed but united with Daniel. I can’t live my life any longer without standing up against what I know is wrong and unjust. I need to show support for Daniel, my family, my friends, the black community and humanity.

“Things need to change and my actions need to start making my words accountable. I am writing this because I honestly don’t know what could happen but need you to know the truth. I love you all dearly and I’m so proud of you. Thank you for making you who I am. I will always be with you. Please don’t let my actions end on this day. Love, Corey.”

Understandably, his parents were worried. “We were fearful for his safety,” says Hastings, 55. “America had blown up, Donald Trump had waded into the situation with his crass comments which only made things worse, and there were riots in the cities, police stations being set on fire and shops looted. We went to bed that night not knowing what was going to happen.”

San Francisco’s reaction to Floyd’s death and the Black Lives Matter campaign for change began peacefully and although there were confrontations later in the day, with activists stressing the march had been hijacked by other groups, Corey and Daniel managed to stay out of trouble.

Says Hastings: “We told Corey that at the first sign of any to get out of the way. ‘Please be safe,’ we said, but we didn’t try to stop him participating and nor could we have done. After a long wait because of the time difference we were able to hear from him. ‘It was a great day,’ he said. We were like: ‘Really?’ ‘Yes, we marched right up to this line of police and took the knee.’”

In the sunshine of his garden, Hastings blinks a few times then beams. “I’m in complete awe of my son.” Referring back to Corey’s letter he adds: “The words he uses! He’s emotionally invested in this. He wants to make a difference.”

He’s also full of admiration for his son-in-law. “When the march reached San Francisco’s City Hall Daniel felt compelled to grab the microphone and speak to the crowd. He made the local news. This is not something he would normally have done; neither he nor Corey has a history of activism. He was just empowered by the day – they both were.”

Corey and Daniel hooked up seven years ago. “They got together online, as you do these days,” says Hastings, “and it would be another couple of years before they met face-to-face for the first time. Then in 2016 they got married.”

The civil ceremony was in Denmark where Corey, 27, a designer, was at the time working for Lego. No family attended – “A sore point!” laughs Jenny from the bottom of the garden – because Daniel’s clan is sizable and probably wouldn’t have been able to be well-represented.

“The boys want to have a celebration with everyone there and this year, perhaps in New York, was discussed until Covid struck,” adds Hastings. The pandemic has affected their livelihoods – Daniel, 26, whose field is property services, moved to a new job at the beginning of March and ten days later had been made redundant – but they love life in San Francisco, having set up home in the Nob Hill district popular with young urban professionals.

Hastings’ son-in-law was Daniel Lowe before meeting Corey but now bears the name of rugby royalty. “He’s a very engaging character,” says Hastings, “and it was great that when he came to Edinburgh for the first time to meet us he felt so comfortable here. ‘No one looks at me as if I’m being judged,’ he said.” In America, meanwhile, the judging continues. “Just yesterday in San Francisco he was confronted by a police officer wielding a gun. ‘Who’s in that car?’ he was asked, just minding his own business.

“He’s a thinker and was the first in his family to go to university. We love having him around, he really brightens up a room and what’s been fantastic is that my mum and dad, Gavin and the rest of the family have all really enjoyed getting to know him.”

Corey played under-age hockey for Scotland and Kerry-anne, 24,