‘Racist prejudice is not an innate, normal human condition’
After MP Corbyn joined demonstration in Finsbury Park, fresh Black Lives Matter protests set to take place in Highbury and at Newington Green
Friday, 12th June 2020 — By Calum Fraser
Dean Ryan read out a list of young black men who have died in police custody
DEMONSTRATORS are planning to join more Black Lives Matter protests in Highbury this evening (Friday) as the global response to George Floyd’s death in US police custody continues.
It follows a week which saw scores of protesters outside Islington Council’s main office building in Upper Street on Wednesday, with speakers giving accounts of deaths in the UK.
Dean Ryan, an Islington Council employee and Unison the union shop steward, read out a list of the young black men who have died in police custody including Rashon Charles, Mark Duggan and Joy Gardner before a minute’s silence was held.
Demonstrators gather with placards in Upper Street
He said: “I have been an anti-racism activist for a long time and I can remember the tragic death of people like Joy Gardner who was a 40-year-old Jamaican woman who lived just down the road in Crouch Hill.
“Immigration officers raided her house at the crack of dawn, they wrapped her body with 40ft of tape, they wrapped 13ft of that tape around her head and she suffocated and died.”
Three police officers involved were acquitted of any wrongdoing.
“She was a person who couldn’t breathe,” said Mr Ryan.
The “I can’t breathe” slogan has been adopted by Black Lives Matter. Mr Floyd had called this out while he lay on the floor handcuffed and being crushed in the neck by a police officer’s knee.
Mr Ryan added: “Thank God for video cameras because now we are seeing the brutality and the day-to-day reality of black people’s lives.”
Later that day Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn joined a demonstration outside the Muslim Welfare House in Finsbury Park.
“Racism and prejudice is not an innate, normal human condition,” he said.
“You see small children together in a nursery – they do not distinguish between each other’s colour, ethnicity or language.
Jeremy Corbyn speaking at Muslim Welfare House
“As they grow, differences increase and prejudices develop and the concept of the value or worth of someone develops.
“The plea I want to make is: let’s change the way we bring up our children to understand the history of all of our communities.”
Another demonstration was held in Navigator Square, Archway, with dozens of residents kneeling in protest. More rallies are planned for today (Friday) in Highbury Fields at 6pm and in Newington Green at 2pm tomorrow (Saturday).
