People Are Just So Tired Of Dealing With Racism Every Day

#BLACK Lives matter

- Eva Simpson

Ten days ago George Floyd was killed on the street by a white police officer who knelt on his neck for nine minutes while his life ebbed away.

Derek Chauvin stole George Floyd’s life and sparked subsequent protests across America.

I’ve seen snippets of the death video on the news, I have no need to watch the full killing, but what I did see brought me to tears.

And I know there was a similar reaction from many black people in Britain. Grown men told me they felt broken after watching it.

And it has resonated here. Yesterday 15,000 people, including Star Wars actor John Boyega, gathered in London’s Hyde Park for a #BlackLivesMatter protest.

Why? Because every black person who watched his killing sees themselves in George Floyd.

They see their dads, mums, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters. They see in 2020 in America, supposedly one of the most advanced countries in the world, black people are still killed because of the colour of their skin.

It resonated here because, like in America, black people in Britain are tired and angry. The overt, institutional and hidden racism that means the odds are stacked against you from the moment you are born is exhausting.

That’s why there are protests here. That’s why Boyega is putting his multi-million-pound personal brand on the line.

He knows he could be ruining his career but some things are too important to stay silent about.