Our govt. is allied with a head of state who does not hesitate to encourage violence and the use of excessive force against his own citizens whilst condemning tyrants in other parts of the globe for doing the same.  It is time to question how important our ‘special relationship’ is if we are finding ourselves once again rendered silent when innocent black lives are unjustly taken away by an ally government just to keep a so-called ‘special friend’.

This country has a chequered history when it comes to race, racism and state violence. We created an empire, which forever changed the meaning of what it means to be ‘black’. We are the country that dirtied that word and the image of the people who live with its label through centuries of violence, theft and smear campaigns for which we are yet to apologise. George Floyd’s story is, unfortunately, not a unique one, but what our duty is as British people, is to admit to the part our history plays in manufacturing the horrific legacy of institutional racism in the United States. We were the architects of a system that has now created yet another victim and after decades of silence, empty gestures and apathy, we are at a turning point- it is our decision as to whether we choose to speak up or continue to watch in silence.

Our govt. and its leader are holding back in condemning President Trump and his government’s shocking lack of empathy in dealing with protestors fighting for justice and equality, all for the sake of preserving a second-rate post-Brexit trade deal in which we will likely serve to lose just as much as we gain. Much is on the line when a country such as ourselves, at an uncertain time such as this, chooses to speak out against a much larger and more powerful country like the US. 

But please, if you believe like I do that BLACK LIVES MATTER, be they American or British, join me in urging our government, on behalf of those fighting for equality in the US, and all of us here that stand with them, to speak out against the violence and hatred-inciting bigot that sits in the White House.

This means issuing a public statement, placing sanctions on the US, putting in place trade blocks and urging other countries to join us in doing so. (PUBLIC STATEMENT = THE BARE MINIMUM. SANCTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS) We cannot allow the government that represents us to remain silent as we grow more and more frustrated with each day seeing innocent people punished for fighting for the same rights we treasure here. 

TO THE UK GOVT. you may choose to publicly condemn him, and in doing so, set a precedent for the countries of the world that injustice anywhere, even when perpetrated by the wealthiest and most powerful nations, must be called out, or you can, instead, stay silent. All you must ask yourself is this; when the history books are written, which would you rather be remembered for? 

CONDEMN TRUMP NOW. SILENCE IS VIOLENCE.