\u00ab\u00a0This is our respect to people in America who are suffering right now,\u00a0\u00bb said one 18-year-old protester.<\/b>
\nThousands of people marched through London on Sunday to support demonstrations across the United States in response to the Minneapolis death of George Floyd. Starting at Trafalgar Square and moving through the city to the U. S. Embassy, British demonstrators chanted slogans including \u00ab\u00a0I can’t breathe,\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Black Lives Matter.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0This is our respect to people in America who are suffering right now,\u00a0\u00bb Paige Adjarhore,18, told CBS News. \u00ab\u00a0We’re too far away to go there and help them, but this is us showing that we support them. We’re with you and we feel your pain,\u00a0\u00bb she said.
\u00ab\u00a0What people don’t understand is that when you’re black, you’re under attack,\u00a0\u00bb said Kieran Blackman,28. \u00ab\u00a0We have fought for equality, and it’s not happening.\u00a0\u00bb
The demonstration was in violation of U. K. lockdown rules to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which forbid large gatherings. The police, however, did not disperse the crowds.
\u00ab\u00a0People are killing black people all over the world, not just in America. We’re just asking to be heard,\u00a0\u00bb Blackman said.
Protests have erupted throughout the U. S., with some turning violent, over the death of Floyd, who was captured on video pleading for air as a police officer kneeled on his neck while he was handcuffed. Four Minneapolis officers have been fired and one, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.
Other European countries held protests in solidarity as well over the weekend, with demonstrators converging on the U. S. embassy in Denmark carrying signs bearing messages like, \u00ab\u00a0Stop killing black people,\u00a0\u00bb the Associated Press reported. In Germany, hundreds took to the streets carrying signs saying, \u00ab\u00a0Who Do You Call When Police Murder?\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0Silence is Violence,\u00a0\u00bb the AP reported. A small protest in London on Saturday saw about a hundred people chant, \u00ab\u00a0Stop killing us.\u00a0\u00bb
U. K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab declined to comment on unrest in the United States, calling the footage of a police office with his knee on Floyd’s neck \u00ab\u00a0very distressing.\u00a0\u00bb
Five demonstrators were arrested, according to the police: Three for violating coronavirus lockdown rules and two for assaulting officers.
\u00ab\u00a0It makes me upset because there should be justice everywhere. We’re human beings at the end of the day, and we’re just not given a fair share, fair shot, or fair crack,\u00a0\u00bb one protesters, who declined to give his name, told CBS News. To the demonstrators in the United States, he said, \u00ab\u00a0We stand by you. Keep it going. Keep it up. Black lives matter.\u00a0\u00bb
\u00ab\u00a0Racism is the real pandemic in the world,\u00a0\u00bb Adjarhore said. \u00ab\u00a0It’s not COVID-19, it’s racism.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n