George Floyd protests: Making voices heard in lockdown

The death of George Floyd has sent shockwaves around the world, the consequences rippling far beyond Minnesota where he died in police custody.

The 46-year-old African American’s death on May 25 was captured by onlookers on their phones.

Mr Floyd could be heard pleading for air and for his mother as a white police officer was seen kneeling on his neck.

One of the officers involved, Derek Chauvin, was charged with third degree murder and manslaughter and is due in court next week. Three other police officers have been fired.

In response, hundreds of protests and marches have taken place across the United States and the rest of the world.

But as people react to Mr Floyd’s death, there are concerns that protests could worsen the coronavirus outbreak, which has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide.

With black, Asian and ethnic minority groups disproportionately affected by the virus, gathering in large numbers has been discouraged, the implication that infection numbers could soar as the country attempts to ease lockdown.

‘I think in Scotland in particular there is this mentality that racism doesn’t exist or racism isn’t a rife thing here, which isn’t the case.’
TAAHLIAH, protest organiser

In Scotland, activists are mindful of the challenges Covid-19 presents when trying to arrange protests in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

TAAHLIAH, a music producer and DJ from Glasgow, helped organise a protest planned in a ‘statement of solidarity’ with the US, as well as standing up for racism in her own country.

“I’m a black woman myself so I was really sort of stricken when I saw everything that was going on in America,” she said.

“I think in Scotland in particular there is this mentality that racism doesn’t exist or racism isn’t a rife thing here, which isn’t the case.

“We do need to talk about the racism that people face in Scotland in particular, because not a lot of people talk about it.”