The brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA has once again surfaced the undercurrent of anti-blackness in policing. The shocking and traumatic video that went viral shows the cold, callous and unprovoked murder. It has sparked protest across the USA, where African Americans are demanding immediate justice for George Floyd, and more broadly against racist policing, with the support of a diversity of communities.

The protests are eloquently articulating that the Black community in the USA are living with the daily reality of violent anti-black policing, and it has to stop. In the UK Black Lives Matter (BLM), who have consistently protested and campaigned against anti-black racist policing in the UK, have organised protests across the country in solidarity with African Americans. 

UCU Branch in Coventry stands in solidarity with the George Floyd family in Minnesota but also with the wider African American community in the USA. It also recognises that anti-blackness is not solely an American issue, it’s a visceral problem here in the UK, in policing and other institutions, including Universities.    

One knee down and with a raised fist in solidarity.