By Black Lives Matter protest planned in Doncaster Town Centre
A peaceful Black Lives Matter protest is planned in Doncaster Town Centre this weekend.
The protest will be held in Sir Nigel Gresley Square on Sunday, June 7 at 1pm.
It has been organised in relation to protests in the US, and social media events such as Black Out Tuesday, which followed the death of African-American man George Floyd while in police custody.
The demonstration for members of the black community and allies to pay tribute to George Floyd will include a nine minute silence.
Organiser Olivia Jones, 25, said:
“I had been sharing posts and information but after a while, it started to feel like I wasn’t doing enough.
“I visited my parents and we were talking about a protest happening in Manchester but we weren’t sure if we could get there and back so I messaged the organisers to see how I could go about setting one up in Doncaster.
“I’ve found that a lot of people are feeling the same way as me and that people want this to happen in Doncaster.
“There can be quite a negative attitude towards Doncaster but we have such a rich diversity I think this could be a moment to bring everyone together.
“Everyone knows someone in the black community who is affected by racism and our lives are all intertwined.
“Hopefully this protest will show that they are safe and that we are all in this together.
“There is a pandemic going on but this is important and if people stay two metres apart and wear face masks I don’t see why it would be any more dangerous than a trip to Tesco.
“People seem to be fine with going to the beach but as soon as it’s a protest it’s a problem.”
The protest will be manned by volunteers to ensure that social distancing measures are observed.
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