Protesters take the knee in square
PEOPLE have got down on one knee for an anti-racism protest in London’s Trafalgar Square despite police warning that such mass demonstrations could be viewed as unlawful. Those who took part in the tribute to George Floyd, who died at the hands of US police, knelt two metres apart in the shadow of Nelson’s Column, wore masks and carried homemade placards. A placard held by a black woman read: “I am human that is enough.”
Other banners held by the protesters, who came from different races, also said “white people must do more”, “colour is not a crime” and
“no justice no peace prosecute the police”. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor earlier warned protesters to abide by coronavirus restrictions. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Of they do come out, then we would ask them to observe that social distancing, think about those around them.”
His warning came after large crowds marched in London and Birmingham this week to protest about the treatment of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white officer held him down by pressing a knee into his neck in Minneapolis on May 25.