| #TAKETHEKNEE – NEXT ACTIONS AFTER THOUSANDS JOINED PROTEST ON DOORSTEPS & IN COMMUNITIES A picture gallery of actions across the country can be found here. These pictures and those at twitter.com/antiracismday can be used with credit to Stand Up To Racism – List of local actions can be found here – Further actions planned for weekend with socially distanced protests on Saturday and online rally Sunday 6pm – Press coverage included ITV and Channel Five national news, the Independent, regional BBC coverage, The Mirror, Evening Standard, The Metro, The Herald, amongst others. NEXT ACTIONS – Sat 6 June Day Of Action: Say Their Names – Black Lives Matter – Sun 7 June Mass Online Rally: Black Lives Matter – We Demand Change, 6pm – Wed 10 June Weekly #TakeTheKnee event, 6pm, on your doorstep, wherever you are At 6pm on Wednesday 3 June, tens of thousands joined Stand up to Racism’s call for people to “take the knee” on their doorsteps to say Black Lives Matter and demand justice for George Floyd. Over 25 thousand tweets used the hashtag #taketheknee, with many posting pictures of their households and workplaces with home made signs. #TakeTheKnee trended number one on Twitter, and following its success #TakeTheKnee is now going to be a weekly event every Wednesday 6pm. Those taking part yesterday included The Fire Brigade service, with many watches joining together to take the knee outside their fire station. Singers Paloma Faith and Bronnie also tweeted to show their support for the action. The day of action also saw local Stand Up To Racism groups hold strictly socially distanced protests to express solidarity with the movement for justice for George Floyd, and to raise the call for an independent public inquiry into the disproportionate BAME deaths due to Covid-19. The action to take the knee is inspired by American quarterback Colin Kaepernick bending to one knee during the National Anthem in 2016 to draw attention to racial injustice and police brutality, and expresses solidarity with the movement in Minneapolis, across the US and around the world, with thousands protesting their anger at institutionalised racism and police brutality here in Britain. Campaigners hope that the thousands joining in with yesterday’s protest are inspired to join urgent campaigns to address institutional racism, including in Britain the disproportionate impactof Covid-19, and the fact that BAME communities are 54 per cent more likely to be fined under coronavirus rules. Police brutality is also a pressing concern in the UK as the recent tasering by police of Desmond Ziggy Mombeyarara in Greater Manchester shows. An independent public inquiry into the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on BAME communities is a central demand of many, and Diane Abbott MP has submitted an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons to that effect. Concerns have also been raised about the premature easing of the lockdown leading to a second wave of coronavirus infections, which could further disproportionately impact on BAME communities. Click here to JOIN Stand Up To Racism – more than ever we need a strong, united and fighting anti racist movement to end the hostile environment and take on institutional racism. Click here to DONATE to our work, and keep the anti-racist movement going at this crucial time |