1 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:07,640 This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing, 2 00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:09,160 very strong language from the start 3 00:00:09,160 --> 00:00:11,760 and discriminatory language which some may find offensive 4 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:19,320 Before they drive off, he's parked right here. 5 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,120 It's a fake bill from the gentleman. 6 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:24,040 Is the driver in there? 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:26,920 Which one? That blue one over there. 8 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:28,520 All right. 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,040 Oh! 10 00:00:32,040 --> 00:00:34,040 Let me see your hands. 11 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:37,680 Hey, man. Stay in the car. Let me see your other hand. 12 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:40,040 I'm sorry, I'm sorry... Let me see your other hand! 13 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:42,520 Please, Mr Officer. Both hands! I didn't do nothing! 14 00:00:42,520 --> 00:00:45,040 Put your fucking hands up right now. I didn't do nothing. 15 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:47,720 Let me see your other hand. All right. What did I do, though? 16 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:49,760 What did I do? Put your hand up there! 17 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,040 God, man! Put your fucking hand up there! 18 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:54,680 Jesus Christ, keep your fucking hands on the wheel. 19 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,360 I got shot. I got shot before. 20 00:00:56,360 --> 00:00:58,840 Keep your fucking hands on the wheel. Yes, sir. 21 00:00:58,840 --> 00:01:00,480 God dang, man! 22 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,120 Man, I got shot the same way, Mr Officer, before. 23 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,519 OK. Well, when I say, "Let me see your hands," 24 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,360 you put your fucking hands up. I am so sorry, Mr Officer. 25 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,520 You got him? Man! Dang, man! 26 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,520 Put your hands on top of your head. Man, Mr Officer. 27 00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:18,520 What's your first name? 28 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:20,400 His name is George Floyd. 29 00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:22,440 What is it? He's a good guy. 30 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:24,280 George Floyd, she said. 31 00:01:24,280 --> 00:01:27,120 Man, let me calm down now. I'm feeling better now. 32 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:29,840 Keep walking. OK, cop, can you do me one favour, man? 33 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,520 No. When we get to the car. Let's get to the car, man. 34 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,479 Please, man. Don't leave me by myself, man, please. 35 00:01:36,479 --> 00:01:40,479 I'm just claustrophobic, that's it. Well, you're still going in the car. 36 00:01:41,479 --> 00:01:45,120 When I watched the video of George Floyd... 37 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:47,280 Don't do me like that, man. Get in the car! 38 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:50,280 OK, can I talk to you, please? If you get in this car, we can talk! 39 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,800 I'm claustrophobic. ..what I saw was evil. 40 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:56,039 I can't breathe! I can't take that, man! I can't! 41 00:01:56,039 --> 00:01:58,759 Let me lay on the ground. I want to lay on the ground. 42 00:01:58,759 --> 00:02:01,440 It was reminiscent of a lynching. 43 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:03,760 Argh! Argh! Argh! 44 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:05,200 Aargh! 45 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:10,039 But, after that, we saw millions of people around the world 46 00:02:10,039 --> 00:02:14,320 take a stand with the Black Lives Matter movement. 47 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,280 A global uprising against injustice. 48 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:20,040 Please, man! I can't fucking breathe! 49 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:22,040 Come on out. I appreciate that. 50 00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:27,520 Because when police continually oppress and violate people's rights 51 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:31,760 and abuse them and murder them, at some point... 52 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:35,920 ..there is going to be an uprising when people have had enough. 53 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:42,960 It was like a flash point. 54 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:44,480 EXPLOSIONS 55 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,480 The echo of that pain. 56 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,560 Like this groundswell of final truth. 57 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:56,120 They're actually understanding 58 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:58,520 what the world looks like through our eyes. 59 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,280 I need you to understand now how painful this shit is! 60 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,040 There was clearly a shared sentiment amongst all of us, 61 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:08,040 which was, change has to happen. 62 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,520 2020 felt like a window of opportunity, 63 00:03:11,520 --> 00:03:14,160 one moment to challenge the status quo... 64 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,680 Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin 65 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:18,400 has been charged with murder. 66 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:23,480 ..but it led to a huge backlash across the world. 67 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,040 Attempting to challenge the status quo, 68 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,360 there was always going to be discontent, because at that point 69 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,680 there's, like, large swathes of defensiveness and denial. 70 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:36,680 REPORTER: His report concluded that there is no proof 71 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:38,640 of institutional racism. 72 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:41,920 And our country will be woke no longer! 73 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:44,040 Did the movement fail? 74 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:46,680 What the hell happened? 75 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:53,600 CHANTING: Whose streets? Our streets! 76 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:55,400 Whose streets? Our streets! 77 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:10,040 So, on May 25th of 2020, Memorial Day... 78 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:15,040 ..I was home with my family in Minneapolis 79 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:20,040 and I just happened to open Facebook 80 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:24,280 and I noticed there was a Black Lives Matter post 81 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:28,040 which said that the police had choked someone 82 00:04:28,040 --> 00:04:30,520 to the point that they died. 83 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:36,720 Normally in Minneapolis, people get shot and killed by the police, 84 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,040 not having their throats crushed, 85 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,200 so I was definitely curious about the situation. 86 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:47,040 I'm a civil rights attorney and one of the spokespersons 87 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,520 for the Black Lives Matter movement here in Minneapolis. 88 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:54,159 So, if people in the community had various issues, 89 00:04:54,159 --> 00:04:56,920 I would contact Chief Arradondo. 90 00:04:56,920 --> 00:05:01,600 When I saw her number, I answered it. 91 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,360 "Did Minneapolis Police kill someone today?" 92 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:08,160 And he said, "No, Miss Nekima." 93 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,440 We had a death, 94 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:15,160 but I believe it was a medical-related death. 95 00:05:16,160 --> 00:05:18,720 Well, that's not what the community is saying happened. 96 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:22,680 "People are saying the police choked this person. 97 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:25,440 "Have you seen video of the incident?" And he said, "No." 98 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,040 I said, "You need to see some video immediately." 99 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:32,960 Please... 100 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,560 Mr Officer... 101 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:38,960 When I saw that video, I wanted my eyes... 102 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:41,520 ..to not see what I was just seeing. 103 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,040 Please! I can't breathe! 104 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:48,040 To see the life... 105 00:05:49,040 --> 00:05:51,760 ..being essentially choked out of someone 106 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,440 who kept saying, "I can't breathe"... 107 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:58,960 ..was one of the most devastating things that I've witnessed. 108 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,280 REPORTER: Breaking news this morning, there's a man who is dead 109 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:06,280 after an encounter with police. 110 00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:11,720 A video posted to Facebook shows an officer with his knee on his neck. 111 00:06:11,720 --> 00:06:14,840 We're not showing that video just yet. 112 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,000 We want to make sure that man's family is fully notified. 113 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,040 I remember... 114 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:25,280 ..the television had a black guy laying on the ground. 115 00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:27,920 MUFFLED: Once you got him down, man, let him breathe. 116 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:29,520 I can't breathe. 117 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,400 My heart was breaking for that dude. 118 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,240 And my sister calls me... 119 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,040 ..and that's when... 120 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,680 ..I realised that... 121 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:45,520 ..I was sitting there looking at my nephew die. 122 00:06:46,760 --> 00:06:50,520 REPORTER: A video showed an officer pressing his knee into the neck 123 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,400 of the man who was later identified as George Floyd. 124 00:06:58,159 --> 00:07:01,040 His favourite pastime was shooting hoop in the 'hood. 125 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:04,960 You know, he's at the park right here now in the Fifth Ward, balling. 126 00:07:06,280 --> 00:07:10,280 It just brings me back, man, to the days where... 127 00:07:11,280 --> 00:07:13,520 ..where we'd shoot ball and laugh. 128 00:07:13,520 --> 00:07:15,920 I was bigger than he was, 129 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:20,440 but after 15 or 16, I still treated him like he was a little dude 130 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:22,280 but he was a little bit taller. 131 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,040 George was my big sister's baby boy. 132 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,480 I watched him grow from a little baby to a grown man. 133 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:33,080 I loved that dude a lot. 134 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,040 I'm never going to be able to look at his beautiful smile. 135 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,000 He don't get to see his baby grow up. 136 00:07:39,000 --> 00:07:41,560 That day on May the 26th... 137 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:44,880 ..that's when the world changed. 138 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:50,200 That video played every second of the day, 139 00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:52,040 all over the world. 140 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,440 REPORTER: Minneapolis gehen fur George Floyd auf die Strasse. 141 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:57,280 REPORTER: George Floyd, un ciudadano negro, 142 00:07:57,280 --> 00:08:00,200 a manos de un policia blanco... 143 00:08:00,200 --> 00:08:02,760 REPORTER: An investigation is under way in Minneapolis 144 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,600 into the death of another black man in police custody. 145 00:08:06,600 --> 00:08:11,760 This was a moment that we could not turn away from. 146 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:17,000 Yeah, just, like, devastating. Just devastating. 147 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,760 With the additional uncertainty of the pandemic, 148 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:24,040 it was just a sense of absolute helplessness. 149 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:25,960 We're all in our homes, 150 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:30,760 our window into the world is our phones or our screens. 151 00:08:48,760 --> 00:08:52,760 Of course, we all want to live in a world where everybody's life 152 00:08:52,760 --> 00:08:56,040 feels sacred and feels valued, but a huge part of that 153 00:08:56,040 --> 00:08:59,760 and an undeniable step towards that is for black lives to matter. 154 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,480 I think I watched the beginning of the clip many times. 155 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,920 I've never finished it, because for me... 156 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,200 ..there was a barrier which I couldn't get over, 157 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,960 which was I don't want to witness someone's life leave them. 158 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:16,120 I've seen quite a lot of films like that. 159 00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,640 Like, videos of something like that occurring. 160 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,280 I just thought, "Oh, God, another one of those videos." 161 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,440 It was a familiar, horrified feeling. 162 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:27,760 You know, unfortunately, for me, 163 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,320 this is not the first video I've seen like this. 164 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,440 It's been going on for too long and it isn't just in our lifetime, 165 00:09:33,440 --> 00:09:36,680 it's been going on long before us. This is a systemic problem. 166 00:09:36,680 --> 00:09:39,680 Racism isn't only going on in America. 167 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:42,000 You know, the UK is not innocent. 168 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,040 The UK has a track record of state-sanctioned violence 169 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:47,520 in police custody, which is even more insidious 170 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:49,480 because it's all behind closed doors. 171 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:51,280 There's no cameras in there. 172 00:09:51,280 --> 00:09:55,360 These cases aren't exclusive to the American experience. 173 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,840 It threw me back to, like, rah, are we still... 174 00:09:57,840 --> 00:09:59,640 ..at the bottom of this thing? 175 00:09:59,640 --> 00:10:03,120 OK, OK, OK, so when are we going to change... 176 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,760 ..everything that makes this possible? 177 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:10,960 REPORTER: George Floyd is dead. 178 00:10:10,960 --> 00:10:13,360 The scene of the confrontation with police 179 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,840 outside this grocery store is now home for a memorial. 180 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:19,520 People throughout the city, throughout the state, 181 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:24,440 expressing outrage over the actions of one officer 182 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:26,840 and the inactions of others. 183 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:29,280 They treated my brother like a scumbag. 184 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:33,080 They left him there to die. They act like he was a piece of trash. 185 00:10:34,080 --> 00:10:37,040 Later that afternoon, I headed to City Hall. 186 00:10:40,680 --> 00:10:44,040 Chief Arradondo was going to make a decision 187 00:10:44,040 --> 00:10:47,880 of whether he was going to fire one or more of the officers. 188 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,280 As Chief of Police, 189 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:14,440 I do not have a say in criminal charges against employees. 190 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:18,000 We do not investigate our own in matters like that, 191 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:22,160 but what I am responsible for is their employment. 192 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:49,440 He made the announcement, which was unprecedented, that he was planning 193 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,200 to fire all four of the police officers involved. 194 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,760 It was something that the department had never experienced before. 195 00:11:55,760 --> 00:12:00,160 Some officers, I'm sure, were devastated. 196 00:12:00,160 --> 00:12:05,800 These officers have family members, they have loved ones, 197 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,640 but I also have to look at the victims. 198 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,120 We all have to be held accountable. 199 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,040 Making sure that those officers weren't just fired 200 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,440 but that they were criminally charged, that became our focus 201 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,560 later that afternoon when we held the first demonstration. 202 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,240 CHEERING 203 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,520 REPORTER: People who are here for the protest 204 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:05,040 have actually joined a march towards the Minneapolis Police Department. 205 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,280 The officers involved in that incident worked at Third Precinct. 206 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:09,760 CROWD: George Floyd! 207 00:13:09,760 --> 00:13:11,920 The Black Lives Matter movement began 208 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,320 long before George Floyd was killed. 209 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:19,280 In 2012, we had started to organise 210 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:22,640 after the killing of Trayvon Martin 211 00:13:22,640 --> 00:13:24,880 at the hands of George Zimmerman. 212 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,840 The verdict, we the jury find George Zimmerman not guilty. 213 00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,040 Our streets! Our streets! 214 00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:36,760 We wound up holding some protests, but there wasn't a movement 215 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,440 until the police killing of Mike Brown. 216 00:13:40,440 --> 00:13:44,800 ..police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old, Michael Brown. 217 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:48,720 Police say the officer had been on the force for about six years. 218 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,040 Folks from around the country actually descended upon Ferguson. 219 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,160 Don't shoot! Hands up! Don't shoot! Hands up! 220 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,040 That is what I would say really started 221 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:04,240 what we know as the movement for Black Lives. 222 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:08,040 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 223 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:12,440 And now the murder of George Floyd would not be swept under the rug. 224 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:13,880 Prosecute the police. 225 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:15,440 No justice, no peace! 226 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,480 We decided to march to the Third Precinct. 227 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,640 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 228 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:24,280 By Wednesday morning, 229 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,520 the site of the Third Precinct had become a focal point. 230 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:29,920 No justice, no peace! 231 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:31,920 Prosecute the police. 232 00:14:31,920 --> 00:14:35,120 If you're ever experiencing civil unrest, 233 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:37,760 in your ear, there's this crescendo. 234 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:39,440 It's building. 235 00:14:39,440 --> 00:14:42,160 By Wednesday, it had reached a fever pitch. 236 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,280 They're really out here hurting people. 237 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,320 I knew that any small mistake 238 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:04,080 could be deadly. 239 00:15:04,080 --> 00:15:07,120 The protest was largely peaceful at that time, 240 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:09,000 but suddenly... 241 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:17,520 ..the police emerged wearing riot gear, 242 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,000 using tear gas on protesters. 243 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:23,960 I thought I was going to vomit. I literally couldn't breathe. 244 00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:27,000 They're worried about rocks being thrown at a building, 245 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,680 when we're worried about human lives being taken away 246 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:32,240 without any accountability. 247 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,400 No. 248 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:43,800 You don't have the luxury of time. 249 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:45,960 Mistakes are going to be made. 250 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:49,680 I did direct our officers to deploy gas 251 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,920 once a secure fence was breached. 252 00:15:52,920 --> 00:15:57,080 You're doing the best you can... 253 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:02,040 ..but it was a crisis that I had never, ever experienced before. 254 00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:03,440 Burn it! 255 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,560 The crowds amassed and they made their way in there. 256 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:15,440 And within minutes, 257 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,440 the first flames started to come from inside the building. 258 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:21,320 Wow, that's the precinct. 259 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:25,920 And I told Dispatch that we've lost the Third Precinct. 260 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:33,960 This is the community's response 261 00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:37,080 to George Floyd being murdered by Minneapolis Police. 262 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,520 What's his name? George Floyd! What's his name? George Floyd! 263 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:43,680 Police have largely withdrawn and it's pretty much lawlessness 264 00:16:43,680 --> 00:16:46,520 right now across large parts of the city. 265 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:49,720 Donald Trump initially called the video of Mr Floyd's death 266 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:53,480 shocking but went on Twitter to describe the protesters as thugs, 267 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,080 adding that "when the looting starts, the shooting starts". 268 00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:00,320 Are you concerned that you might be stoking more racial violence 269 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,800 or more racial...? No, no, not at all. 270 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:05,920 MAGA loves the black people. 271 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,880 Minnesota, they've got to get tougher. 272 00:17:08,880 --> 00:17:12,760 The situation is incredibly dangerous. 273 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,280 Minnesota National Guard is deployed. 274 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:19,720 This is the largest civilian deployment in Minnesota history. 275 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:22,520 The force that we have out there now is about three times larger 276 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:25,720 than the one in the '60s, which was the largest during the race riots. 277 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,600 I'm here to announce that former Minneapolis Police Officer 278 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:31,080 Derek Chauvin is in custody. 279 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,480 But the question is whether that will be enough to quell 280 00:17:42,480 --> 00:17:46,040 the rage that was ignited here and is now spreading across the country. 281 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:52,720 The trauma being expressed right now, it's the result of years 282 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,520 and years of racial injustice and discrimination. 283 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:05,520 Martin Luther King, he says, "A riot is the language of the unheard." 284 00:18:05,520 --> 00:18:09,440 I think that black people were feeling that there was very little 285 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:13,200 that they could do to challenge injustices within the system, 286 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,680 until the Black Lives Matter movement began. 287 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:21,160 CHANTING: George Floyd! 288 00:18:21,160 --> 00:18:24,000 Thousands of people have gathered across central London 289 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:26,920 to protest against the killing of George Floyd in the biggest 290 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:29,600 gathering of people since lockdown. 291 00:18:33,640 --> 00:18:35,280 Am I next? 292 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,160 That is the question I'm asking myself. Regardless if I'm here 293 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:41,920 in the United Kingdom, am I next, because of my skin colour? 294 00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,440 Black life matters. 295 00:18:44,440 --> 00:18:47,120 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 296 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,160 The George Floyd protests started 297 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:51,280 on the streets of Minneapolis on Wednesday. 298 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,800 By Sunday, they were with us here in Trafalgar Square. 299 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:59,240 This level of engagement, is it about solidarity 300 00:18:59,240 --> 00:19:03,360 with fellow citizens in America, or is it about change here? 301 00:19:03,360 --> 00:19:05,520 I don't... Yeah, I don't think it's either/or. 302 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,040 There are parallels, there are significant parallels, 303 00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:10,840 disturbing parallels between the black British experience 304 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,000 and the African American experience. 305 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,920 There was a young man that I was in primary school with. 306 00:19:15,920 --> 00:19:17,240 His name's Julian Cole. 307 00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:23,320 He was accosted by five officers outside of a nightclub, 308 00:19:23,320 --> 00:19:25,040 had his neck snapped. 309 00:19:25,040 --> 00:19:29,400 Guess how many convictions that debacle ended in? None. 310 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,760 There's been no jail time doled out for police. 311 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:34,920 But you're not putting America and Britain on the same footing? 312 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,440 I mean, I heard 313 00:19:36,440 --> 00:19:38,200 that very moving, horrific account, 314 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,400 but our police aren't armed, they don't have guns. 315 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:43,760 It's not the same, is it? 316 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,080 If it's not the same, then you have to explain to me 317 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:48,040 why Julian Cole is not an exception. 318 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,800 Black people are twice as likely to die in police custody 319 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:54,920 as their white counterparts in this country, so this is very real. 320 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:58,600 The need for change is overdue and I hope this is a learning point 321 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:02,000 for many people who think along the lines 322 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:03,800 that you just expressed. 323 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:06,880 At the time George Floyd happened, I've had politicians say to me, 324 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,000 "Why are you worried?" 325 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,080 You know, "It's not British policing." 326 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,440 But I know, cos I've been in policing for a very long time, 327 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,920 that things like that happen in this country too. 328 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:18,600 That is the reality 329 00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,680 and it's very much the real experience of the black community. 330 00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:24,760 Julian happened to be my friend 331 00:20:24,760 --> 00:20:28,360 and when I heard about George Floyd's murder, yeah, I immediately 332 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:32,720 thought about Julian, because it was all to do with the throat. 333 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,360 Do you know what I mean? 334 00:20:34,360 --> 00:20:36,080 Yeah... 335 00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:41,080 I used to work with Julian in a shoe shop back in, like, 2013, 336 00:20:41,080 --> 00:20:43,520 and we were cool. 337 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,120 Played football for the FC semi-pro and he was a sports science student. 338 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:49,800 He was a good... youth of good fortune. 339 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:52,800 So, when I found out about his case, 340 00:20:52,800 --> 00:20:54,920 yeah, I was...I was shocked still. 341 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:57,040 I was...I was... 342 00:20:57,040 --> 00:21:00,320 ..like, what? What do you mean, his neck's broken? 343 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,440 What do you, like...? 344 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:06,080 Julian Cole's arrest was captured on CCTV. 345 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,200 He'd been restrained outside a nightclub in Bedford 346 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:12,600 and bouncers and the police were involved. 347 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:14,640 Officers dragged him into a van. 348 00:21:16,560 --> 00:21:19,080 The officers sacked today had all lied that he'd been able 349 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,200 to move his legs. 350 00:21:21,200 --> 00:21:25,400 He was initially taken to a police station, rather than a hospital. 351 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:27,560 And this is how he is now. 352 00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,800 He's in a permanent vegetative state. 353 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:34,840 I'm not afraid to say Feds literally broke my bredrin's neck, 354 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:37,760 then lied on one of their statements. 355 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,000 It's too much, you know what I'm saying? 356 00:21:40,000 --> 00:21:42,040 It was...it was too much, bro. 357 00:21:42,040 --> 00:21:45,240 In a situation like this, you shouldn't be abusing your power. 358 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:47,600 All that's happened to you is that you've lost your job. 359 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:49,120 I don't think that's enough. 360 00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:51,640 You would think that if you broke somebody's neck, 361 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:53,680 you'd be at the mercy of the law. 362 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:57,480 Any of us go outside and do that right now to somebody, 363 00:21:57,480 --> 00:21:59,840 we are spending the rest of our lives in jail. 364 00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:01,880 What the misconduct panel have found 365 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,280 is that the officers acted 366 00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:06,600 without the honesty and integrity 367 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:08,680 that I would expect them to, 368 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,080 and nor did they conduct the welfare checks 369 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:12,720 that I would have wanted them to. 370 00:22:22,600 --> 00:22:26,040 Cases such as Julian Cole challenge 371 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,680 that notion that justice in the United Kingdom 372 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:31,560 treats everybody fairly, 373 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,280 no matter what the colour of their skin. 374 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:47,320 They're searching my car for drugs, even though I told them what I do. 375 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,920 They checked me and they've not found anything. 376 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:52,320 I can get stopped once a week. 377 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,320 You detain me because of what? 378 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:56,480 Because of perception, because you perceive me to be something I'm not. 379 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,520 There's also a series of stories 380 00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:01,880 where police brutality had been alleged, 381 00:23:01,880 --> 00:23:05,280 cases like the Dalian Atkinson killing. 382 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:06,920 NEWSREADER: Police were called to his father's home. 383 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:11,600 A Taser was discharged and Dalian Atkinson was restrained. 384 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:13,920 He died shortly afterwards. 385 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,240 The cop kicks him in the head so hard 386 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:20,760 there's an imprint of his boot on Dalian Atkinson's head. 387 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:22,680 A lot of black people can relate to 388 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:25,760 George Floyd having the life squeezed out of him. 389 00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:29,600 Not many of us can relate to the sharp end of the violence, 390 00:23:29,600 --> 00:23:34,000 but I think most of us can relate to being looked at with suspicion, 391 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:36,240 being looked at like you're a threat, 392 00:23:36,240 --> 00:23:40,960 being chased out of establishments, being asked to move on. 393 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:42,840 Police, prisons. 394 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:47,320 These are institutions that exacerbate inequality, 395 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:52,360 institutions that have pinpointed and terrorised us, you know? 396 00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:54,280 What's his name? CROWD: George Floyd! 397 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,240 What's his name? George Floyd! What's his name? 398 00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,400 NEWSREADER: In Minneapolis, the demonstrations continue. 399 00:24:00,400 --> 00:24:03,560 Calls are growing for the three other officers involved 400 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:05,240 to also be brought to justice. 401 00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:08,520 Lock up all four! Lock up all four! 402 00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:09,960 Lock up all four! 403 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:14,840 I am your President of law and order. 404 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,880 If a city or state refuses to take the actions that are necessary 405 00:24:18,880 --> 00:24:22,560 to defend the life and property of their residents, 406 00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:25,680 then I will deploy the United States military 407 00:24:25,680 --> 00:24:29,960 and quickly solve the problem for them. 408 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,800 We must never give in to anger or hatred. 409 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:38,600 If malice or violence reigns, then none of us is free. 410 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:42,840 Go to the Instagram pages of some of your favourite celebrities 411 00:24:42,840 --> 00:24:45,160 and you'll see nothing but a black box 412 00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,160 where a photo or video should be. 413 00:24:47,160 --> 00:24:49,520 Major corporations have flooded social media 414 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,840 with messages for the Black Lives Matter cause. 415 00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,040 Quite quickly it started to become a social media event, 416 00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:56,360 something to jump on. 417 00:24:56,360 --> 00:24:58,240 Like, "Oh, my God, this is awful." 418 00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:00,400 Tell me about how awful this is for you. 419 00:25:00,400 --> 00:25:03,600 I didn't really think I could explain it in... 420 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:05,080 ..in a text message. 421 00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:08,040 A recent update for Google Assistant now has a custom answer 422 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:10,080 to the question, "Do black lives matter?" 423 00:25:10,080 --> 00:25:12,120 GOOGLE ASSISTANT: 424 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:21,360 SIREN WAILS 425 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:28,920 Do not stay here! 426 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:30,240 If you are here for the protest, 427 00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,760 make your way towards Hyde Park, please! 428 00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:38,520 Arriving at that protest, you know, 429 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,880 as someone who has the dichotomy of 430 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,520 both experiencing racism, but also having privilege, 431 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:48,920 because of my skin tone and proximity to whiteness, 432 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:50,800 I felt like I had to show up. 433 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:52,800 I guess I didn't know what to expect, 434 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:56,720 but your pain had a place to be expressed. 435 00:25:56,720 --> 00:25:59,120 No justice! CROWD: No peace! 436 00:25:59,120 --> 00:26:00,640 No justice! No peace! 437 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,360 No justice! No peace! 438 00:26:03,360 --> 00:26:05,400 No justice! No peace! 439 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:07,720 George Floyd! CROWD: George Floyd! 440 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:09,200 George Floyd! George Floyd! 441 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:11,440 Once I had that megaphone, it was like, 442 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:13,120 "Right, this is the job," 443 00:26:13,120 --> 00:26:17,160 and protesting was like a job that I took seriously. 444 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:19,200 George Floyd! Big up yourselves from everything... 445 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,040 CHEERING 446 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:27,000 It was one of the most magical days, 447 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:29,760 because it was a huge turnout. 448 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:32,520 Just felt like the whole park was covered with people, 449 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:36,400 and this sense of the fact that we are all coming from the same place 450 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:38,200 and we all want the same thing. 451 00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:52,960 There was this energy, like, we were just there, 452 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:56,080 listening to each other, and that kind of felt cathartic. 453 00:26:57,280 --> 00:27:00,840 I want to thank every single one of you for coming out. 454 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:03,200 This is very important. This is very vital. 455 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,640 Suddenly, this sort of energy in the crowd, like, kind of changed 456 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:09,400 and I could suddenly hear this voice. 457 00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:14,320 Black lives have always mattered. We have always been important. 458 00:27:14,320 --> 00:27:16,040 We have always... It was John Boyega. 459 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:19,680 Every black person understands and realised the first time 460 00:27:19,680 --> 00:27:23,760 you were reminded that you are black. You remember... 461 00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:28,520 You could cut the air with a knife, like, it was...powerful. 462 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:30,680 SHOUTING 463 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,720 I need you to understand now how painful this shit is. 464 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:37,040 I need you to understand how painful it is... Guys, guys, guys... 465 00:27:37,040 --> 00:27:40,840 ..to be reminded every day that your race means nothing. 466 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,160 And that isn't the case any more. 467 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,200 That is never the case any more. We are going to try today. 468 00:27:46,200 --> 00:27:50,680 We are a physical representation of our support for George Floyd. 469 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,040 Stand on this, let's stand on this, stand on it! 470 00:27:53,040 --> 00:27:56,600 We are a physical representation of our support for Trayvon Martin. 471 00:27:57,680 --> 00:28:00,960 I'm speaking to you... I'm speaking to you from my heart. 472 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,280 Look, I don't know if I'm going to have a career after this, 473 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,360 but no, fuck that, bruv. 474 00:28:05,360 --> 00:28:08,720 INDISTINCT SHOUTING 475 00:28:10,920 --> 00:28:12,600 Fuck that! 476 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:15,440 John, you got this. 477 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,880 You got this, you got this! You've got this! 478 00:28:18,880 --> 00:28:20,400 I'm so grateful to him. 479 00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:22,520 His speech went a long way. 480 00:28:22,520 --> 00:28:26,840 Black boy from Peckham and he's using his power 481 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:30,920 and his influence in a way that's really going to benefit people. 482 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,080 NEWSREADER: Star Wars actor John Boyega 483 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:37,160 is joining the call for racial equality after George Floyd's death. 484 00:28:37,160 --> 00:28:39,880 I just think it's really cool that John Boyega, 485 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:42,360 star of Star Wars, went out and spoke. 486 00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:43,880 I just think this is super powerful. 487 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,040 My guy is shelling and I love the fact that he's shelling 488 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:48,000 and he's creating waves. 489 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:53,760 There's not really as much racism or violence as there used to be, 490 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:56,000 so there's no reasons to protest any more, 491 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:57,680 so they have to kind of make things up 492 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,200 and exaggerate and blame things on racism, 493 00:29:00,200 --> 00:29:03,080 even though racism wasn't proven to be involved yet. 494 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:10,520 CROWD: No peace! No justice! No peace! No justice! 495 00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:13,560 So, I remember my editor had given me a call. 496 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:18,480 There was a gathering for George Floyd in Hyde Park. 497 00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:21,840 The speakers encouraged people, "Let's keep making noise, 498 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:24,760 "let's walk towards central London." 499 00:29:26,280 --> 00:29:27,560 Forget about Covid. 500 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,640 There are not supposed to be any gatherings happening 501 00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,280 anywhere in the country right now, 502 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:33,800 and there are thousands and thousands of people, 503 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:35,480 young people, who are here today. 504 00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:39,400 What I notice is groups of police officers, on the side, 505 00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,280 sort of following them on. 506 00:29:41,280 --> 00:29:43,880 CROWD: George Floyd! George Floyd! 507 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,920 So, some people would start interacting with the police. 508 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,480 There has always been a sense of 509 00:29:55,480 --> 00:29:56,960 black people versus the police, 510 00:29:56,960 --> 00:29:59,640 or racialised people versus the police, 511 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:01,680 and how the police deal with those communities. 512 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:06,120 So, when I see the police, I feel threatened. I don't feel safe. 513 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,160 I do believe that their presence there is aggressive. 514 00:30:11,160 --> 00:30:13,000 No justice! No peace! 515 00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,560 Those protests were essentially about police brutality. 516 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,720 The BLM protests had a real impact on policing at the time, 517 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,640 and I know that because I was in all of the meetings 518 00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:23,680 when that was discussed. 519 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:25,960 I was one of the National Police Chiefs' Council's 520 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:27,600 52 chief constables. 521 00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:32,840 So, Chiefs' Council that I sat on, lots of people sitting around, 522 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,440 at least a third of that council going, 523 00:30:35,440 --> 00:30:37,840 "This is terrible, we've got to do something about it." 524 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,040 A third didn't speak, but I strongly suspect were... 525 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,640 ..wanted to do something but were nervous of the political reaction. 526 00:30:45,640 --> 00:30:49,360 The political context of the time from the Conservative Party was, 527 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:52,640 "There's a culture war here and there's nothing to see here." 528 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,360 NEWSREADER: Police chiefs in the UK offered a message of solidarity 529 00:30:55,360 --> 00:30:58,000 to the protesters, saying they too were appalled 530 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,400 and horrified by Mr Floyd's death, 531 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:02,760 but that didn't go down well here. 532 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:05,040 The police in the UK have killed people 533 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:06,600 and are held unaccountable for. 534 00:31:06,600 --> 00:31:08,080 Look at the T-shirt. 535 00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:10,120 These are the names of people they've killed. 536 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,840 How dare the chiefs of police across the country issue a statement 537 00:31:13,840 --> 00:31:16,400 saying they're in solidarity with George Floyd. 538 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:17,600 They are disgraceful! 539 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:20,000 They have never been accountable in this country. 540 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:22,960 How dare they use his death as a publicity stunt! 541 00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:25,480 We're out here for people in this country that have been killed 542 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:27,080 and we will fight for our rights! 543 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,880 CROWD: Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you! 544 00:31:29,880 --> 00:31:32,680 You, you're a racist. 545 00:31:32,680 --> 00:31:33,720 It was very tense. 546 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:35,040 Very, very tense. 547 00:31:37,320 --> 00:31:39,640 It was just total chaos. 548 00:31:49,040 --> 00:31:52,000 Do you understand why people in this country 549 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:55,280 feel that there is enough of a parallel to come out 550 00:31:55,280 --> 00:31:58,760 and protest here in the streets like we saw yesterday? 551 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:01,280 I understand people are feeling very strongly 552 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,240 about what has happened over there, 553 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:07,240 but I would draw a distinction, actually, between the United States 554 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:12,320 with its history, its culture, its policing models, and ours. 555 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:14,960 I think that George Floyd's murder brought people 556 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:20,560 out on the streets, but I think this racialised state violence. 557 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,280 It keeps happening because it's the norm, 558 00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:25,480 and we don't want this norm any more. 559 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:27,760 That's why people came out on the streets, cos they were like, 560 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:29,640 "We don't like this norm. This norm is wrong. 561 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:31,120 "This norm is perverse." 562 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:34,520 Just because it's the norm doesn't mean that it's OK. 563 00:32:34,520 --> 00:32:35,880 NEWSREADER: Breaking news overseas, 564 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,600 a major protest under way right now in London. 565 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:40,480 A protest in London. What's going on? 566 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:42,840 What we're seeing here feels uniquely American. 567 00:32:42,840 --> 00:32:45,800 I guess it's not. Well, it isn't any more, Steph, 568 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:47,760 because what you're seeing is 569 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:50,360 those same protests being mirrored around the world, 570 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,960 people both inspired and outraged. 571 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:56,080 This is just one example of the protests that are happening now 572 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:58,840 and building around the world, from Australia... 573 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:02,200 Whose lives matter? CROWD: Black Lives Matter! 574 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:06,800 ..to Paris yesterday, where 20,000 people protested. 575 00:33:06,800 --> 00:33:08,160 Black Lives Matter! 576 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:10,280 Meanwhile, back here in the US, 577 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,800 three other officers have been charged with aiding 578 00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,520 and abetting second-degree murder. 579 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,720 Protests in the UK feel like they're gathering momentum. 580 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,280 Strength of feeling hasn't yet diminished 581 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:24,360 and those wanting to add their voice is growing. 582 00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,640 I'd been seeing it build and it's so interesting, 583 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:29,320 cos it was, like, building on WhatsApp 584 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:30,800 and stuff. 585 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:34,440 It was very, very community-level, 586 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,760 in the same way that aunties will send you chain prayers, 587 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:40,760 do you get me? It was coming in like that. 588 00:33:40,760 --> 00:33:44,760 And then you get this sense of I know the community's going to... 589 00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,200 ..going to really step out for this. 590 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,200 You just kind of feel it, you know what I mean? 591 00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,480 You feel it, like, and maybe that thread gets tugged a little bit 592 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:54,240 and it...everyone's, like, very community ready. 593 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:55,560 It felt like we were focused. 594 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,320 We can't get to where we want to be if we don't do this right now. 595 00:34:00,160 --> 00:34:01,880 What's his name? CROWD: George Floyd. 596 00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:05,800 NEWSREADER: It has been a day of mass demonstrations across the UK. 597 00:34:05,800 --> 00:34:08,920 Thousands took to the streets in cities across the country 598 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:12,800 to make their voice heard, chanting, "Black Lives Matter." 599 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,440 CROWD: Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 600 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:16,800 Black Lives Matter! 601 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,520 Black Lives Matter! 602 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,520 CHEERING 603 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,080 MUSIC: My Block by Che Lingo 604 00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:24,920 Silence is violence, no cap. 605 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,400 # Things I know, God forbid 606 00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:29,000 # Probably would've made Jesus cross 607 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:30,280 # That's my blood, family tree 608 00:34:30,280 --> 00:34:32,159 # No excuse, freedom costs 609 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:33,679 # Take the risk, make mistakes 610 00:34:33,679 --> 00:34:36,280 # Pray I never repeat the loss... # 611 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:40,320 We kneel together for eight minutes, 46 seconds. 612 00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:43,719 That's the time it took for George Floyd to die. 613 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:45,760 # Do this for my people 614 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:47,120 # Black don't mean illegal 615 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:48,560 # They don't know me... # 616 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,239 Earlier in 2020, I had put out My Block. 617 00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,440 I wrote this song for Julian. 618 00:34:54,440 --> 00:34:56,719 # Frustrated Look at how they got us in papers 619 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:58,120 # Black boy, black hood, black trainers 620 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,280 # Judging the cover of that book, no pages... # 621 00:35:00,280 --> 00:35:02,640 It came from a place of controlled rage. 622 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:07,040 I was looking for a way to be able to say I'm frustrated 623 00:35:07,040 --> 00:35:09,480 without actually losing my composure. 624 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:11,920 # And that bird they're serving's plateless... # 625 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:18,920 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 626 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:20,320 Black Lives Matter! 627 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:22,680 Around that same time, we started seeing, like, 628 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:26,920 videos of people, like, playing My Block at protests. 629 00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:28,760 # No excuse, freedom costs 630 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:30,440 # Took the risk, made mistakes... # 631 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:31,840 I was grateful. 632 00:35:31,840 --> 00:35:35,960 It actually is used for the thing that you want it to be used for, 633 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,840 which is help amplify the voices of people 634 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:40,480 who can't do it for themselves. 635 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:43,280 We'd managed to make Julian Cole's situation 636 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:44,800 grab some traffic on the internet. 637 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:46,920 This now has had an effect beyond me. 638 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:50,640 The movement, this isn't going to go away. 639 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,560 Thinking about that video of George Floyd and that experience, 640 00:36:05,560 --> 00:36:07,920 there were moments in that period of time 641 00:36:07,920 --> 00:36:11,040 where I would just sit and hysterically sob, 642 00:36:11,040 --> 00:36:13,360 just acknowledging that things were just shit 643 00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:15,040 and had been shit growing up, 644 00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,520 and what the murder of George Floyd brought out, 645 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:20,080 particularly when I look at kind of, around here, 646 00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:23,520 the things that my friends and my family were saying 647 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:27,080 in my local community, and seeing Facebook posts of, 648 00:36:27,080 --> 00:36:29,760 you know, "If black people didn't steal and loot, 649 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:31,880 "then maybe they wouldn't have a problem," and just... 650 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:33,080 And these are people who were, like, 651 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:35,600 some of my closest friends growing up, 652 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:40,200 and it was a really pivotal moment for me. 653 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:45,640 I was starting to acknowledge that I am a black woman. 654 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,120 Where's the one of me and Jake? 655 00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,200 Mum was born and raised in the Forest of Dean. 656 00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:55,120 My dad is West African Senegalese. 657 00:36:55,120 --> 00:37:01,080 Looking at these, there's a complete flashback to kind of growing up. 658 00:37:01,080 --> 00:37:03,680 My parents separated when I was quite young, 659 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:06,320 so I grew up with my mum and my grandparents 660 00:37:06,320 --> 00:37:08,200 in Gloucestershire. 661 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,760 The school ones. I know, I just... 662 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:14,200 I mean, yeah, they're re... They're lovely photos. 663 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:16,320 They're really cute, but I just, yeah... 664 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:21,400 So, is there stuff about school that I don't maybe know about? 665 00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:32,280 This is my old secondary school leaver's shirt. 666 00:37:32,280 --> 00:37:35,360 It's from kind of old friends, people I went to school with. 667 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:39,040 Right across the front of that shirt says, 668 00:37:39,040 --> 00:37:41,440 "Nigger," that someone's written. 669 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:46,360 Erm, you've got, "I love you always, Nigs." 670 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,880 That was, yeah, my nickname in secondary school. 671 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:50,840 It started off with my nickname being Nigger 672 00:37:50,840 --> 00:37:55,040 and then shortened to Nigs in kind of an endearing term. 673 00:37:55,040 --> 00:37:57,880 You've got, "Good luck to my favourite Nig." 674 00:37:57,880 --> 00:37:59,560 SHE SIGHS 675 00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:02,040 "Nig nog, golliwog, give a coon a bone 676 00:38:02,040 --> 00:38:04,640 "This black bitch just stole my phone." 677 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:07,840 SHE EXHALES 678 00:38:08,880 --> 00:38:10,120 Mm. 679 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:15,240 Yeah. PRODUCER: Are you OK? 680 00:38:15,240 --> 00:38:17,080 Yeah. Yeah, no, I'm fine. 681 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:18,840 Erm... 682 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:20,520 These are all people that, like, 683 00:38:20,520 --> 00:38:23,280 I considered some of my closest friends, 684 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:26,760 that I spent every single day of my life with, 685 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:32,880 and there's a real sadness that that was my reality for so long. 686 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:37,080 For a group of 16-year-olds, for this to be the product of, like, 687 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,280 us celebrating leaving school, 688 00:38:39,280 --> 00:38:41,440 I don't know how you can argue 689 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:45,000 that we don't have an issue with racism in the UK, looking at that. 690 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:48,920 The area I live in, the context in which I grew up in, 691 00:38:48,920 --> 00:38:50,760 the only thing that was acceptable was to be white. 692 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:52,200 That was... That's the norm. 693 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:55,280 That's what the world here looks like. 694 00:38:55,280 --> 00:38:58,040 I just wanted to be normal, and being white... 695 00:38:58,040 --> 00:38:59,720 God, I'm going to go now... 696 00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,440 Being white was the only thing that was normal or OK, 697 00:39:04,440 --> 00:39:06,800 and I wasn't that, so it was kind of how do I... 698 00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:12,320 Yeah, how do I find my place in this world? 699 00:39:13,680 --> 00:39:15,840 I just didn't want to be black growing up. 700 00:39:15,840 --> 00:39:18,640 That's how I spent my whole life, you know? 701 00:39:20,560 --> 00:39:24,760 The murder of George Floyd felt like a really powerful moment... 702 00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,360 ..knowing that if it didn't happen in this moment... 703 00:39:31,920 --> 00:39:33,880 ..your life carries on as it was. 704 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,360 Racism is happening all around us. 705 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:40,640 Take a stand. 706 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,320 If you are white and you're listening to this right now, 707 00:39:44,320 --> 00:39:46,680 this is your problem too. 708 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:50,240 The way it was being reported was very, very different. 709 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,880 Like, basically, white people were shocked, and they'd not really been 710 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:57,200 shocked by these events previously, 711 00:39:57,200 --> 00:40:00,440 and this has happened so many times. 712 00:40:00,440 --> 00:40:03,240 But this particular time, everybody, it... Because everybody 713 00:40:03,240 --> 00:40:06,440 was still and didn't look away, 714 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,640 it changed the way the air felt. 715 00:40:10,640 --> 00:40:12,000 Even when you went outside, 716 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,960 like, everything felt, like, electric. 717 00:40:14,960 --> 00:40:18,320 The whole world was in pain about this one man 718 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,800 and his horrible murder. 719 00:40:23,640 --> 00:40:27,280 On the morning of the protest in Bristol, I wake up with 720 00:40:27,280 --> 00:40:30,520 this, like, urgency and this sort of fire. 721 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:32,960 It's like I need to be there. 722 00:40:32,960 --> 00:40:35,360 I don't think I ever actually watched the video, 723 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,800 the murder of George Floyd, but the thing that was being 724 00:40:38,800 --> 00:40:42,320 talked about a lot was the fact 725 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:44,240 he was asking for his mum. 726 00:40:45,720 --> 00:40:49,760 Doesn't matter, like, race doesn't matter in that situation, does it? 727 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:51,680 That's just a human being murdered by another human. 728 00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:56,280 I actually don't know what was going on for the average white person 729 00:40:56,280 --> 00:41:00,720 in that moment, but I think every decent human that sees 730 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:05,360 that video is going to feel something and want to respond. 731 00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:08,080 There was an outpouring of solidarity, right? 732 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,160 And there was also a recognition 733 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,280 and a response to the fact that the UK is not innocent. 734 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:17,200 Anybody who was in the streets, they were carrying placards. 735 00:41:17,200 --> 00:41:20,560 There was a placard said, "Colston must fall." 736 00:41:20,560 --> 00:41:24,960 The significance of these statues here, of Colston, 737 00:41:24,960 --> 00:41:29,240 are largely responsible for a lot of the slave trade through Bristol 738 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:33,240 so they are just blocking it off right now. 739 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:38,160 There wasn't a single person of colour in my school 740 00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:42,200 and, you know, my mum, I would never have called her racist 741 00:41:42,200 --> 00:41:44,440 but her partner, my stepdad, 742 00:41:44,440 --> 00:41:46,880 he wouldn't shy away from saying the N word. 743 00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:49,840 CHEERING 744 00:41:50,800 --> 00:41:53,680 And so, after the murder of George Floyd, 745 00:41:53,680 --> 00:41:55,800 I suddenly felt like I'd been blind 746 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:57,920 and I think that's the awakening. 747 00:41:57,920 --> 00:41:59,800 It's like the blindfold coming off. 748 00:41:59,800 --> 00:42:02,400 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 749 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:05,680 But the main thing that was capturing my attention 750 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:08,360 was Bristol's history 751 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:11,320 with the transatlantic slave trade. 752 00:42:11,320 --> 00:42:12,640 Black Lives Matter! 753 00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:16,040 To have in the city centre the Colston statue, 754 00:42:16,040 --> 00:42:19,320 this awful slave trader, 755 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:25,200 a man who trafficked 85,000 African people, 756 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:28,480 to have that man glorified in the city centre, 757 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:32,320 it says he was "the most virtuous and wise son of the city." 758 00:42:33,840 --> 00:42:36,880 I just got really passionate. I got really angry 759 00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:40,040 that this could still be existing now. 760 00:42:40,040 --> 00:42:42,320 So, we get to the statue... 761 00:42:43,280 --> 00:42:47,960 Edward Colston, reviled for his part in the slave trade. 762 00:42:47,960 --> 00:42:51,040 There has been a growing campaign in recent years to remove 763 00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:53,880 Colston's name from buildings across the city. 764 00:42:53,880 --> 00:42:55,600 CHEERING 765 00:42:56,680 --> 00:42:59,720 There's nothing quite like being in a crowd, feeling the same, 766 00:42:59,720 --> 00:43:02,320 and I did a bit of rigging. 767 00:43:02,320 --> 00:43:04,040 I've got a rope in my bag. 768 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:08,000 Take him down! Take him down! Take him down! 769 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:11,400 We didn't need to communicate what was going to happen. 770 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:19,720 And I remember just having an anger and passion 771 00:43:19,720 --> 00:43:22,360 about the removal of this abhorrent man. 772 00:43:29,240 --> 00:43:31,240 CHEERING 773 00:43:33,160 --> 00:43:36,360 There was this Saddam statue-esque moment, 774 00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:39,040 this cathartic moment. 775 00:43:47,240 --> 00:43:50,560 To see young black men climbing up on top of that plinth 776 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:52,960 where this slave trader had once stood 777 00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:54,960 felt like poetic justice. 778 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,400 That statue represents years of oppression. 779 00:44:05,400 --> 00:44:10,440 It represents years of hurt and just a lot of hatred that has been 780 00:44:10,440 --> 00:44:13,720 built up inside of us, that we've internalised for years, 781 00:44:13,720 --> 00:44:17,840 and that coming down today hopefully signifies change. 782 00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:33,560 The Colston statue, I thought, good for them. 783 00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:35,400 You know, we know how he made his money. 784 00:44:44,240 --> 00:44:49,960 So, I first heard about the Colston statue live on social media 785 00:44:49,960 --> 00:44:54,360 and my instant reaction was, this is quite embarrassing. 786 00:44:54,360 --> 00:44:58,920 I saw to me what looked like quite middle-class white people, 787 00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:03,320 essentially engaging in an act of vandalism in the name 788 00:45:03,320 --> 00:45:08,680 of helping black people, people that they perceive of as victims. 789 00:45:08,680 --> 00:45:12,080 But I actually think it makes it harder to win over 790 00:45:12,080 --> 00:45:16,040 potentially sympathetic majorities to your cause. 791 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:23,720 Cast in bronze, now daubed with graffiti, 792 00:45:23,720 --> 00:45:26,040 one of Bristol's most famous sons. 793 00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:33,280 This had begun as a Black Lives Matter demonstration. 794 00:45:40,200 --> 00:45:43,520 Removing statues and airbrushing out history, 795 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:45,600 totalitarian regimes do that. 796 00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,760 I just think not everything should be taken down. 797 00:45:48,760 --> 00:45:51,120 So, how many statues are we going to destroy? 798 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:54,160 How many buildings do we deface to make things fit a narrative? 799 00:45:54,160 --> 00:45:57,480 I know, but how can you address the systemic racism 800 00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:00,160 when you have a giant statue honouring them? 801 00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:03,520 But not that way. 802 00:46:03,520 --> 00:46:04,880 It was just crazy. 803 00:46:06,920 --> 00:46:09,840 So, at the time, you have Nigel Farage arguing 804 00:46:09,840 --> 00:46:12,560 about BLM being a Marxist movement. 805 00:46:12,560 --> 00:46:18,120 Black Lives Matter is a far-left Marxist organisation, 806 00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:22,400 whose chief aim is to defund and close down police forces 807 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:25,480 so that we would live under anarchy... Nigel? 808 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,040 Oh, you're full of such utter nonsense! 809 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:30,800 Talk shows, radio shows, Jeremy Vine, all sorts going back 810 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:34,120 and forth about the merits or not of something like Black Lives Matter. 811 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:36,280 And if you say you don't condone criminal damage, 812 00:46:36,280 --> 00:46:38,760 why are you then justifying it and saying, 813 00:46:38,760 --> 00:46:41,600 "But criminal damage is OK providing you feel strongly 814 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:45,520 "enough about the issue"? Because that's exactly what you're saying. 815 00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:48,760 That's exactly what I'm not saying and if you'd heard me, 816 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:52,880 Carole, what I said every single time was, I do not condone violence. 817 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:57,280 This was a turning point at which suddenly a statue 818 00:46:57,280 --> 00:47:00,920 changes people's minds to think it's not civilised behaviour. 819 00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:02,360 That's enough. 820 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:05,360 You can't erase history and you haven't solved anything. 821 00:47:05,360 --> 00:47:06,600 So what are they going to do? 822 00:47:06,600 --> 00:47:09,080 Take the pyramids down? Cleopatra's Needle down? 823 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:10,440 The Coliseum? 824 00:47:10,440 --> 00:47:11,720 It actually became, I think, 825 00:47:11,720 --> 00:47:14,160 one of the most divisive moments of that summer. 826 00:47:15,960 --> 00:47:19,160 The history of the British Empire has been brought into focus. 827 00:47:20,320 --> 00:47:23,880 This was sprayed next to the statue of Winston Churchill. 828 00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:27,640 To many, he's a hero, but he is a controversial figure. 829 00:47:29,360 --> 00:47:31,360 SHOUTING 830 00:47:33,560 --> 00:47:37,280 I will not support or indulge those who break the law 831 00:47:37,280 --> 00:47:41,440 or attack the police, or desecrate public monuments 832 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:45,160 and so I must say clearly that those who attack public property 833 00:47:45,160 --> 00:47:47,680 or the police, who injure the police officers 834 00:47:47,680 --> 00:47:49,760 who are trying to keep us all safe, 835 00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:53,520 those people will face the full force of the law. 836 00:48:04,440 --> 00:48:07,680 This hooliganism is utterly indefensible. 837 00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:11,400 There is no justification for attempting to disrespect 838 00:48:11,400 --> 00:48:16,720 the Cenotaph or vandalising the statue of Winston Churchill. 839 00:48:16,720 --> 00:48:20,080 Does the Home Secretary recognise that there's structural 840 00:48:20,080 --> 00:48:23,080 inequality, discrimination and racism in our country? 841 00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,080 Does the Home Secretary recognise that people want to see 842 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:28,040 action from this government? 843 00:48:28,040 --> 00:48:31,400 Denise emails, "If a slogan about lives mattering is needed, 844 00:48:31,400 --> 00:48:36,520 "then surely All Lives Matter is the only one acceptable to all." 845 00:48:36,520 --> 00:48:41,280 Of course all lives matter, like, point out the obvious, 846 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:43,080 but we're here to talk about lives 847 00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:47,040 that are historically harmed and lost. 848 00:48:47,040 --> 00:48:50,880 All Lives Matter is a slogan used malevolently by the far-right 849 00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:53,360 to undermine racial justice movements. 850 00:48:53,360 --> 00:48:55,280 All lives should matter, not just one, right? 851 00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:58,640 Yeah, exactly, you fucking spotty-faced bastard. 852 00:48:58,640 --> 00:49:02,360 They were waiting for an opportunity. And defacing Churchill, 853 00:49:02,360 --> 00:49:05,280 well, you know, all bets are off now. 854 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:07,400 Why have they come here? Why have you not moved them on? 855 00:49:07,400 --> 00:49:09,720 Why are they coming antagonising us? They're antagonising us. 856 00:49:09,720 --> 00:49:11,280 No, no, not everybody. Fuck off! 857 00:49:11,280 --> 00:49:14,560 This was the direct backlash. 858 00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:17,000 The energy being thrown back the other way. 859 00:49:17,000 --> 00:49:19,240 Burnley Football Club spoke out 860 00:49:19,240 --> 00:49:22,280 against the flying of a White Lives Matter banner at their match 861 00:49:22,280 --> 00:49:24,200 against Manchester City yesterday. 862 00:49:24,200 --> 00:49:28,160 White Lives Matter is being used as turning this into white v black. 863 00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:32,200 I think that the pandemic was a really significant factor... 864 00:49:32,200 --> 00:49:35,960 Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land! 865 00:49:35,960 --> 00:49:38,520 ..and that pandemic confinement. 866 00:49:38,520 --> 00:49:41,440 The fabric of society has changed completely, right, 867 00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:44,320 because of the lockdown regulations. 868 00:49:44,320 --> 00:49:47,520 People are trying to make sense of it, people are scared by it, 869 00:49:47,520 --> 00:49:49,120 people are angry about it. 870 00:49:49,120 --> 00:49:51,400 The police are weak. Boris Johnson doesn't give a shit. 871 00:49:51,400 --> 00:49:54,040 This is our country and we will not stand by 872 00:49:54,040 --> 00:49:57,360 and watch our monuments and memorials be vandalised. 873 00:49:57,360 --> 00:49:59,040 At the same time, 874 00:49:59,040 --> 00:50:02,960 I don't think progressives were great at responding to some of those 875 00:50:02,960 --> 00:50:06,320 feelings and some of those worries and some of that anger, 876 00:50:06,320 --> 00:50:09,760 and I think that that left a lot of space open 877 00:50:09,760 --> 00:50:11,920 for the right to capitalise. 878 00:50:11,920 --> 00:50:16,480 Ah, man, I'm just watching it and I'm getting so fucking angry. 879 00:50:16,480 --> 00:50:20,240 Just thinking, how the fuck can you let that happen in our capital city? 880 00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:23,640 BLM, you've done more to break down race fucking integration 881 00:50:23,640 --> 00:50:25,680 in this country than anyone's tried to do. 882 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:27,880 Much more than the National Front ever done. 883 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,400 Look what you've done! Look what you're doing! 884 00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:32,600 The divide that you're about to create in this country 885 00:50:32,600 --> 00:50:36,360 is fucking going to be unrecognisable, and you've done it. 886 00:50:36,360 --> 00:50:39,640 Anyway, next Saturday, I'll see you all in London. 887 00:50:41,520 --> 00:50:44,760 What were you planning on doing? Marching up to London. 888 00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:47,640 Stop anyone attacking any statues. 889 00:50:47,640 --> 00:50:50,680 That weekend, the word went around, which was, "Don't go out," 890 00:50:50,680 --> 00:50:53,200 and so a lot of people didn't go out, including myself. 891 00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:54,720 I didn't protest that day. 892 00:50:54,720 --> 00:50:57,640 Well, there's going to be trouble, ain't there, 893 00:50:57,640 --> 00:50:58,760 between black and white people? 894 00:51:00,160 --> 00:51:01,880 Travelling on the underground... 895 00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:05,040 G'wan, boys! Get out, go on! 896 00:51:05,040 --> 00:51:07,360 ..people were just there, staring at one another. 897 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:09,360 You know what? 898 00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:11,200 You've had your five minutes of fame, 899 00:51:11,200 --> 00:51:12,720 now fuck off and get out the train. 900 00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:22,160 You could just feel the tension. 901 00:51:22,160 --> 00:51:23,200 Go on. 902 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:26,720 LAUGHTER 903 00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:26,720 Get that? Yay! 904 00:51:26,720 --> 00:51:30,200 Right, good for you! Well done! 905 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:32,600 One of my friends sent me the rant from Tommy Robinson. 906 00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:38,360 Tommy Robinson was going to start a counterprotest with the EDL, 907 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:40,200 English Defence League. 908 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:41,960 EDL! EDL! 909 00:51:43,400 --> 00:51:46,640 We just knew, my friends and I, that we needed to be there. 910 00:51:51,720 --> 00:51:55,240 There were going to be young men from the community going down there 911 00:51:55,240 --> 00:51:57,200 to face the far-right and it wasn't going to be pretty. 912 00:51:59,120 --> 00:52:01,920 At a time when the whole world is standing up against racism, 913 00:52:01,920 --> 00:52:04,520 if we're not going to protest because racists are turning up, 914 00:52:04,520 --> 00:52:06,600 it sets a bad precedent. 915 00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:10,600 We just felt we could help to defuse some of it, you know? 916 00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:16,120 Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land, Eng-er-land! 917 00:52:16,120 --> 00:52:18,440 Well, this is the scene live right now. 918 00:52:20,480 --> 00:52:22,080 Get on your knees! Get on your knees for me. 919 00:52:22,080 --> 00:52:25,280 What we know is that this is a coalition, really, 920 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:27,400 of far-right groups like Britain First 921 00:52:27,400 --> 00:52:29,280 and also the Football Lads Alliance. 922 00:52:31,040 --> 00:52:34,840 Well, let's go to some live pictures now of Trafalgar Square. 923 00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:38,160 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 924 00:52:38,160 --> 00:52:40,400 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 925 00:52:41,440 --> 00:52:45,280 I just knew it wasn't going to end well and I just wanted black people 926 00:52:45,280 --> 00:52:48,520 to stay as far away from all of that as possible. 927 00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:57,200 The atmosphere here has turned suddenly toxic. 928 00:53:00,680 --> 00:53:05,120 In Trafalgar Square, we see the far-right guys throwing bottles, 929 00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:07,920 racially abusing BLM protesters. 930 00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:15,360 And what appeared to be a small group of far-right sympathisers 931 00:53:15,360 --> 00:53:18,040 broke through into Trafalgar Square. 932 00:53:18,040 --> 00:53:20,320 Oy-oy-oy-oy! 933 00:53:20,320 --> 00:53:23,200 There were skirmishes happening, clashes, fights. 934 00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:26,440 Things escalating and getting out of hand. 935 00:53:26,440 --> 00:53:29,920 And then what happened was the police sort of chaperoned 936 00:53:29,920 --> 00:53:32,600 everybody over towards Waterloo Station. 937 00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:37,040 Fuck EDL! Fuck EDL! Fuck EDL! Fuck EDL! 938 00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:39,680 This is actually Black Lives Matter that's causing this. 939 00:53:39,680 --> 00:53:42,440 It's Antifa, the anti...they're fascists. 940 00:53:42,440 --> 00:53:46,200 The antifascists. They're the reason why people are here today. 941 00:53:55,200 --> 00:53:56,560 And we are getting reports now 942 00:53:56,560 --> 00:53:59,880 that there have been several clashes at Waterloo Station. 943 00:54:01,760 --> 00:54:02,920 The EDL far-right guys, 944 00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:05,760 they run off and they leave one guy. 945 00:54:07,080 --> 00:54:09,760 He looks concussed and he's, you know, sort of staggering around. 946 00:54:10,880 --> 00:54:13,520 Some BLM supporters start to descend on him. 947 00:54:15,560 --> 00:54:17,760 My friends and I, we rushed over there. 948 00:54:17,760 --> 00:54:20,680 I wasn't just going to stand and watch it unfold. 949 00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:22,880 You know, I had the power to do something about it 950 00:54:22,880 --> 00:54:24,440 right there and then, and I did. 951 00:54:33,760 --> 00:54:38,400 Amidst so many ugly images, so much hatred and so much division, 952 00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:40,800 there was one that offered hope. 953 00:54:42,200 --> 00:54:45,360 Two hours afterwards, I had a message from my sister. 954 00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:46,960 It said, "Bruv, is this you?" 955 00:54:46,960 --> 00:54:48,880 And she said, "It's going viral." 956 00:54:48,880 --> 00:54:51,200 That's when I realised this is a big story. 957 00:54:51,200 --> 00:54:53,680 So I said to her, like, "Don't tell Mum." 958 00:54:54,840 --> 00:54:57,640 I didn't expect to get caught on camera, full stop. You know? 959 00:54:57,640 --> 00:54:59,720 I mean, I guess I should have known better, 960 00:54:59,720 --> 00:55:02,000 but I didn't expect it to go viral. 961 00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:03,840 Not globally, anyway. 962 00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:06,800 When I saw the photo, in that moment my mind said, 963 00:55:06,800 --> 00:55:08,640 "Look, I'm going to treat this man like a human 964 00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:11,000 "because that's how I want to be treated. 965 00:55:11,000 --> 00:55:13,240 "I can see this guy's injured. Let me help him out." 966 00:55:13,240 --> 00:55:17,160 That humanity, I think, is the core note at the heart of everything 967 00:55:17,160 --> 00:55:20,440 that happened, and that's what makes it a symbolic image. 968 00:55:30,160 --> 00:55:33,640 Living in rural Britain, you experience a lot of racism 969 00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:38,520 and we don't talk about diversity, we don't talk about difference. 970 00:55:38,520 --> 00:55:42,640 But now that was happening, I felt really inspired by that. 971 00:55:42,640 --> 00:55:46,080 It gave me a bit of hope that I have moved through my life 972 00:55:46,080 --> 00:55:50,280 not being vocal enough and here's an opportunity for me to do so, 973 00:55:50,280 --> 00:55:51,960 and I can do it somewhere where 974 00:55:51,960 --> 00:55:53,840 nobody ever talks about these things. 975 00:55:54,960 --> 00:55:59,440 So I text my friend, Eleni, shall we do a protest in the forest? 976 00:56:00,480 --> 00:56:03,200 And she was like, "Oh, my God, yes." 977 00:56:03,200 --> 00:56:05,560 So, yeah, it started off from a text. 978 00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:08,600 So we called the Town Clerk 979 00:56:08,600 --> 00:56:11,280 and then I think within like an hour or so, 980 00:56:11,280 --> 00:56:15,480 we were given the go-ahead to run a demonstration from Bathurst Park. 981 00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:19,280 And we were like, "Right, what's next on our list?" 982 00:56:19,280 --> 00:56:22,160 We kind of went through all these things we needed to do 983 00:56:22,160 --> 00:56:24,000 and we were like, "Great, we make a Facebook group next." 984 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:25,560 Like, we start advertising. 985 00:56:25,560 --> 00:56:28,360 We'll just invite all of the people that we know. 986 00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:31,000 You know, people are going to think, "Great, this is brilliant," 987 00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:34,000 like, "Let's get on board," and people started sharing it 988 00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,520 and, you know, we got quite a lot of traction quite quickly on the 989 00:56:36,520 --> 00:56:39,960 Facebook group. And we were like, "God," like, "This is going well." 990 00:56:39,960 --> 00:56:43,280 Forest of Dean, Black Lives Matter demonstration. 991 00:56:43,280 --> 00:56:48,080 But then, there is a problem because it started quite public outrage. 992 00:56:49,760 --> 00:56:55,520 A petition had been created trying to oppose the demonstration 993 00:56:55,520 --> 00:56:58,200 going ahead, for the concerns around Covid, 994 00:56:58,200 --> 00:57:00,440 and then the Council sent us a letter 995 00:57:00,440 --> 00:57:02,400 and they'd made the decision to cancel the event. 996 00:57:03,400 --> 00:57:05,360 "I feel I can speak for all of the Council 997 00:57:05,360 --> 00:57:08,600 "and the overwhelming majority of Lydney residents to say that we 998 00:57:08,600 --> 00:57:11,960 "all support the underlying aims of the Black Lives Matter campaign 999 00:57:11,960 --> 00:57:15,920 "and therefore indeed the wider sense that All Lives Matter. 1000 00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:19,720 "I'm calling on the organisers to show due respect for Lydney 1001 00:57:19,720 --> 00:57:24,040 "and that indeed 'All Lives Matter' to cancel or at least postpone 1002 00:57:24,040 --> 00:57:27,360 "your event as it demonstrates respect for all lives." 1003 00:57:30,200 --> 00:57:32,600 So, yeah, I think we just put a post up that said, 1004 00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:34,600 "This event is now cancelled. 1005 00:57:34,600 --> 00:57:36,480 "Please see the letter attached below." 1006 00:57:36,480 --> 00:57:39,560 And within about an hour of posting it, 1007 00:57:39,560 --> 00:57:40,880 someone from the Guardian reached out. 1008 00:57:41,960 --> 00:57:44,360 The Council had been backing the celebration 1009 00:57:44,360 --> 00:57:47,280 and then the sentiment changed and one councillor, I think, 1010 00:57:47,280 --> 00:57:48,840 resigned in protest. 1011 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:52,000 And it's just...it's a real microcosm in some ways 1012 00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:55,480 of what was unfolding in the rest of Britain, 1013 00:57:55,480 --> 00:57:59,640 one side very impassioned, and the other feeling threatened by it. 1014 00:57:59,640 --> 00:58:02,480 I think we must have spoken to the Guardian that evening 1015 00:58:02,480 --> 00:58:05,160 and then it was picked up by the BBC. 1016 00:58:05,160 --> 00:58:08,760 "Our top story tonight..." and I was just like, "Oh, my God!" 1017 00:58:08,760 --> 00:58:12,320 Welcome to BBC Points West on this Friday evening. 1018 00:58:12,320 --> 00:58:16,520 Our main story tonight, the town divided over Black Lives Matter. 1019 00:58:16,520 --> 00:58:21,600 You know, racism is not something that is recognised in this area. 1020 00:58:21,600 --> 00:58:25,800 You shouldn't go around accusing people that don't agree with you 1021 00:58:25,800 --> 00:58:27,280 of being racist. 1022 00:58:27,280 --> 00:58:29,160 Yeah, I mean, it's... 1023 00:58:30,920 --> 00:58:33,200 ..a poor choice of words at best. 1024 00:58:33,200 --> 00:58:36,720 It's offensive at worst. 1025 00:58:36,720 --> 00:58:41,040 It speaks to how much of a problem this is in the area 1026 00:58:41,040 --> 00:58:43,640 that I live in, because that's your councillors that have said 1027 00:58:43,640 --> 00:58:46,640 that "All Lives Matter" three times in a letter. 1028 00:58:46,640 --> 00:58:49,760 If you're going to underline three times "All Lives Matter", 1029 00:58:49,760 --> 00:58:52,320 which is a statement that's used by the far-right, 1030 00:58:52,320 --> 00:58:57,200 you've already aligned yourself not on the side of racial justice. 1031 00:58:57,200 --> 00:59:00,600 The Council said the event was causing anxiety among residents, 1032 00:59:00,600 --> 00:59:04,400 but the organisers believe the rejection has racial overtones. 1033 00:59:04,400 --> 00:59:08,400 It was just everywhere and I think, you know, as soon as a news 1034 00:59:08,400 --> 00:59:13,320 outlet posted something on their Twitter and their, like, website, 1035 00:59:13,320 --> 00:59:19,080 I was getting a kind of barrage of abuse, comments, overt racial slurs, 1036 00:59:19,080 --> 00:59:23,960 threatening to follow me home, or that they wanted to kill me. 1037 00:59:23,960 --> 00:59:27,560 There was websites that were set up at that point, that still 1038 00:59:27,560 --> 00:59:31,280 exist now, that are like, KhadyGueyeisacunt.com. 1039 00:59:31,280 --> 00:59:36,600 So, these are from the KhadyGueyeisacunt.com website. 1040 00:59:36,600 --> 00:59:40,000 "As atonement for the slave trade, we should take immediate steps 1041 00:59:40,000 --> 00:59:42,120 "to make things right for those who don't feel welcome. 1042 00:59:42,120 --> 00:59:44,600 "We can start by selling this cunt back to the Africans. 1043 00:59:44,600 --> 00:59:46,960 "A sort of reverse slave trade, if you will." 1044 00:59:46,960 --> 00:59:50,240 Someone else said, "I would fuck it as long as she called me Master 1045 00:59:50,240 --> 00:59:54,720 "while I was banging away, then drop it off in deepest, darkest Africa." 1046 00:59:54,720 --> 00:59:58,040 I just don't unders... I can't get my head round it and I mean, 1047 00:59:58,040 --> 01:00:00,360 I suppose, in a sense, 1048 01:00:00,360 --> 01:00:02,920 I suppose that it's so awful 1049 01:00:02,920 --> 01:00:05,400 that you kind of almost block it out. 1050 01:00:05,400 --> 01:00:06,960 Which I do understand, 1051 01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:11,080 but I think the privilege you get to turn away from it that I don't get. 1052 01:00:11,080 --> 01:00:13,920 I will never not be black, and I think... 1053 01:00:13,920 --> 01:00:17,400 I know, cos I know part of who I am is 1054 01:00:17,400 --> 01:00:20,000 I'm not very good at challenging, 1055 01:00:20,000 --> 01:00:23,840 cos you remember you said to me, "You need to do better, Mum." 1056 01:00:23,840 --> 01:00:26,320 Sounds so brutal when you put it like that. 1057 01:00:26,320 --> 01:00:28,720 No, but it was tough, it was tough. Yeah. 1058 01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:30,840 I was really shocked when you said it to me. 1059 01:00:33,400 --> 01:00:35,800 It was really tough 1060 01:00:35,800 --> 01:00:39,600 and I was in a really dark place, I think, 1061 01:00:39,600 --> 01:00:41,120 at that moment in time. 1062 01:00:42,360 --> 01:00:44,280 But I think the Council, 1063 01:00:44,280 --> 01:00:46,680 they did face a lot of backlash for that letter. 1064 01:00:47,960 --> 01:00:51,040 They had a vote and they voted to change their decision 1065 01:00:51,040 --> 01:00:52,680 and the protest was allowed to go ahead. 1066 01:00:54,080 --> 01:00:57,560 You know, people were accusing the Council, the Mayor, councillors, 1067 01:00:57,560 --> 01:01:02,360 of being racist, and that isn't a good look for a local council, 1068 01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:06,000 so I think a lot of their change of heart 1069 01:01:06,000 --> 01:01:07,480 was around the optics. 1070 01:01:11,600 --> 01:01:15,360 On the day of the protest, just seeing the number of people 1071 01:01:15,360 --> 01:01:19,640 was so supportive and I think really acknowledging 1072 01:01:19,640 --> 01:01:22,160 how serious this problem is. 1073 01:01:22,160 --> 01:01:24,960 It was an incredible experience. 1074 01:01:28,160 --> 01:01:31,080 ..says only white people can fix racism. 1075 01:01:31,080 --> 01:01:33,000 My colour is not my problem. 1076 01:01:33,000 --> 01:01:34,600 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 1077 01:01:38,960 --> 01:01:42,160 Like, the racist abuse and threats, it's been difficult, but I think, 1078 01:01:42,160 --> 01:01:45,520 for us, it's become so much more than we ever thought it would be. 1079 01:01:45,520 --> 01:01:47,880 It was something we were passionate about before, 1080 01:01:47,880 --> 01:01:51,320 but I think now it's something that means ten times more to us. 1081 01:01:51,320 --> 01:01:52,720 Hello. 1082 01:01:52,720 --> 01:01:55,040 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 1083 01:01:55,040 --> 01:01:56,840 Black Lives... Matter! 1084 01:01:56,840 --> 01:01:58,600 Black Lives... 1085 01:01:58,600 --> 01:02:01,200 Just being there in that moment and watching that all play out, 1086 01:02:01,200 --> 01:02:03,400 it's one of my proudest moments. 1087 01:02:03,400 --> 01:02:06,440 Yeah, it made everything feel worth it. 1088 01:02:08,560 --> 01:02:12,160 During that time, in the middle of the summer of 2020, 1089 01:02:12,160 --> 01:02:15,480 the protests dwindled, and they got smaller, 1090 01:02:15,480 --> 01:02:18,320 but the energy was still there, the energy was the same. 1091 01:02:20,440 --> 01:02:22,520 All right, guys. 1092 01:02:22,520 --> 01:02:25,480 And it just felt like people were changing 1093 01:02:25,480 --> 01:02:28,000 and their opinions were changing. 1094 01:02:28,000 --> 01:02:30,040 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 1095 01:02:30,040 --> 01:02:32,000 Black Lives Matter! 1096 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:34,920 By the time it got to the end of June, July, everyone started 1097 01:02:34,920 --> 01:02:38,720 to refer to activism as, like, this new thing now that we're all 1098 01:02:38,720 --> 01:02:40,880 going to be a part of, we're all going to be activists 1099 01:02:40,880 --> 01:02:43,040 in some way or another. 1100 01:02:43,040 --> 01:02:44,720 Black Lives Matter! Black Lives Matter! 1101 01:02:46,600 --> 01:02:48,360 Why are you wearing it? You're not dressed for summer. 1102 01:02:48,360 --> 01:02:50,680 Cos I wear anything I want, man, I wear anything I want. 1103 01:02:50,680 --> 01:02:51,880 What's wrong with you? 1104 01:02:51,880 --> 01:02:53,640 You're not dressed for the climate today, it's very warm. 1105 01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:55,360 What do you mean, the climate? Who... 1106 01:02:55,360 --> 01:02:58,840 After the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protest, 1107 01:02:58,840 --> 01:03:03,120 any incident involving the Met and people of colour, 1108 01:03:03,120 --> 01:03:05,800 they were becoming viral incidents. 1109 01:03:05,800 --> 01:03:08,640 The other police officer asked me where I live, where I was going. 1110 01:03:08,640 --> 01:03:10,360 That's also none of your business. 1111 01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:11,480 Yeah, I'm not... 1112 01:03:11,480 --> 01:03:13,680 It's none of your... Do you understand that? 1113 01:03:13,680 --> 01:03:15,960 They were becoming issues of public confidence 1114 01:03:15,960 --> 01:03:20,400 and there was a different level of media interest in it as well. 1115 01:03:20,400 --> 01:03:23,560 For instance, the stop and search of Bianca Williams 1116 01:03:23,560 --> 01:03:25,600 and Ricardo dos Santos. 1117 01:03:25,600 --> 01:03:27,080 Wait, wait, wait! 1118 01:03:27,080 --> 01:03:29,400 Why are you doing this? What you doing? 1119 01:03:29,400 --> 01:03:31,480 That's my home, bro! What you doing? I'm at home! 1120 01:03:31,480 --> 01:03:33,000 This is my home, this is my... 1121 01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:35,280 This is the moment that British sprinter Bianca Williams, 1122 01:03:35,280 --> 01:03:39,200 her partner and three-month-old baby were stopped and searched by police. 1123 01:03:39,200 --> 01:03:41,400 He's just been detained for a search. 1124 01:03:41,400 --> 01:03:43,080 For what? For what? Don't, why are you touching me? 1125 01:03:43,080 --> 01:03:45,880 My son is in the car! OK, madam, we're going to look after your son. 1126 01:03:45,880 --> 01:03:48,120 My son is in the car! I don't want you to look after him. 1127 01:03:48,120 --> 01:03:49,560 My son is in the car! 1128 01:03:49,560 --> 01:03:51,960 So just calm down, we'll look after your son for you. 1129 01:04:00,680 --> 01:04:03,760 I know all of those statistics, and they are horrific. 1130 01:04:03,760 --> 01:04:08,160 And that is the exemplar of policing, over-policing 1131 01:04:08,160 --> 01:04:11,560 and under-protecting minority communities. 1132 01:04:11,560 --> 01:04:15,280 And it's so well known, I think it's actually quite difficult for anyone 1133 01:04:15,280 --> 01:04:19,240 to argue that disproportionality, overrepresentation in the 1134 01:04:19,240 --> 01:04:22,400 criminal justice system is not an absolute fact in this country. 1135 01:04:22,400 --> 01:04:25,000 You're detained in a Section One of PACE, it's a search for weapons. 1136 01:04:25,000 --> 01:04:27,040 We're both professional athletes, bro. 1137 01:04:27,040 --> 01:04:28,480 Why don't you act like one, then? 1138 01:04:28,480 --> 01:04:29,960 Huh? Act like one, then. 1139 01:04:29,960 --> 01:04:31,280 I don't need to act like one. For what reason? 1140 01:04:31,280 --> 01:04:33,480 You're detained under Section One of PACE, OK? It's a search for weapons. 1141 01:04:33,480 --> 01:04:36,080 For what reason? I did not act suspicious. 1142 01:04:36,080 --> 01:04:38,720 Policing in this country definitely has a problem, 1143 01:04:38,720 --> 01:04:43,240 policing both black and Asian ethnic minority communities 1144 01:04:43,240 --> 01:04:46,920 when the vast majority of the police force is white, 1145 01:04:46,920 --> 01:04:49,160 the majority of it is male. 1146 01:04:49,160 --> 01:04:51,640 It has a lack of understanding 1147 01:04:51,640 --> 01:04:53,280 and empathy with the issue of race. 1148 01:04:54,520 --> 01:04:57,040 Speaking yesterday, Mr Johnson said that as a leader, 1149 01:04:57,040 --> 01:04:59,520 he could not sit back and ignore what was going on. 1150 01:04:59,520 --> 01:05:01,480 The British Prime Minister acknowledged 1151 01:05:01,480 --> 01:05:04,240 that much more needed to be done to tackle the issue. 1152 01:05:04,240 --> 01:05:07,640 My job at the time was just to find a way 1153 01:05:07,640 --> 01:05:09,840 to help the government to respond. 1154 01:05:09,840 --> 01:05:12,480 The discussions with the Prime Minister were mainly 1155 01:05:12,480 --> 01:05:15,360 focused on, how do we respond? 1156 01:05:15,360 --> 01:05:18,880 And the Prime Minister's concerns around the strength of feeling 1157 01:05:18,880 --> 01:05:22,040 amongst the public, particularly the black population, 1158 01:05:22,040 --> 01:05:26,280 and he is wondering what he as Prime Minister could or should be doing. 1159 01:05:26,280 --> 01:05:28,720 Boris Johnson's announced that a commission will be 1160 01:05:28,720 --> 01:05:31,960 established to examine all aspects of inequality in the UK. 1161 01:05:31,960 --> 01:05:35,600 We have to look at discrimination in the education system, 1162 01:05:35,600 --> 01:05:37,640 in the criminal justice system. 1163 01:05:37,640 --> 01:05:40,160 We have to look at all ways in which it affects black 1164 01:05:40,160 --> 01:05:41,680 and minority ethnic groups. 1165 01:05:41,680 --> 01:05:44,720 A new cross-governmental commission to look at what is going on, 1166 01:05:44,720 --> 01:05:47,520 and what I really want to do as Prime Minister 1167 01:05:47,520 --> 01:05:50,080 is change the narrative so it's... 1168 01:05:50,080 --> 01:05:53,760 ..so we stop the sense of victimisation and discrimination. 1169 01:05:53,760 --> 01:05:57,800 We stop the discrimination, we stamp out racism. 1170 01:05:57,800 --> 01:05:59,400 Now I'm in this building 1171 01:05:59,400 --> 01:06:02,280 and there are people who have very strong views on race relations, 1172 01:06:02,280 --> 01:06:05,840 institutional racism, the use of the term. Very strong views. 1173 01:06:05,840 --> 01:06:10,000 They think, you know, the race relations industry has gone too far 1174 01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:12,320 and there's overreach, and, you know, 1175 01:06:12,320 --> 01:06:14,320 they don't speak for the majority, etc. 1176 01:06:15,600 --> 01:06:17,200 I have a slightly different view, 1177 01:06:17,200 --> 01:06:20,000 because I feel like I don't have to agree with everybody 1178 01:06:20,000 --> 01:06:23,200 that I serve, and so, my feeling was, 1179 01:06:23,200 --> 01:06:25,800 it makes a lot of sense to take stock. 1180 01:06:25,800 --> 01:06:28,320 Let's see what the evidence says. 1181 01:06:29,280 --> 01:06:31,360 And so there was myself, and Munira Mirza, 1182 01:06:31,360 --> 01:06:33,320 the Head of the Policy Unit at the time, 1183 01:06:33,320 --> 01:06:35,880 and Kemi Badenoch, a junior minister. 1184 01:06:35,880 --> 01:06:38,160 The three of us were responsible 1185 01:06:38,160 --> 01:06:41,680 for trying to put together this commission. 1186 01:06:41,680 --> 01:06:43,880 And then the Chair is... 1187 01:06:43,880 --> 01:06:47,440 Appointment of the Chair was where things were maybe slightly more... 1188 01:06:49,040 --> 01:06:51,360 ..challenging. For me. 1189 01:06:51,360 --> 01:06:53,960 My view was we needed somebody that would be willing 1190 01:06:53,960 --> 01:06:55,800 to follow the evidence. 1191 01:06:55,800 --> 01:06:59,640 But for my other two colleagues, there was only one option, 1192 01:06:59,640 --> 01:07:01,600 and that was...that was Tony. 1193 01:07:01,600 --> 01:07:04,280 Dr Tony Sewell. He has previously rejected evidence 1194 01:07:04,280 --> 01:07:07,640 of institutional racism in schools as "flimsy", 1195 01:07:07,640 --> 01:07:10,280 and has said that black boys were being held back 1196 01:07:10,280 --> 01:07:14,080 because of what he called "their over-feminised upbringing". 1197 01:07:14,080 --> 01:07:15,320 Well, I was very clear. 1198 01:07:15,320 --> 01:07:17,680 I said, "Tony's a good guy, but he shouldn't be a chair 1199 01:07:17,680 --> 01:07:19,360 "because of the things he's said in the past." 1200 01:07:19,360 --> 01:07:22,360 Do you think you were hired to do this job 1201 01:07:22,360 --> 01:07:26,360 to confirm the views that already exist in Number 10? 1202 01:07:26,360 --> 01:07:28,600 There's a kind of perception out there that this report 1203 01:07:28,600 --> 01:07:30,400 is going to be some kind of 1204 01:07:30,400 --> 01:07:33,520 right-wing whitewash about...around race. 1205 01:07:33,520 --> 01:07:36,440 You know, there are issues around crime and policing but, 1206 01:07:36,440 --> 01:07:41,560 on the whole, the picture is, for those areas, is one of improvement. 1207 01:07:41,560 --> 01:07:46,000 But my other colleagues, their worry was the Chair that was going to, 1208 01:07:46,000 --> 01:07:50,240 for example, conclude that the UK is institutionally racist, 1209 01:07:50,240 --> 01:07:53,080 would that be palatable for...for them, 1210 01:07:53,080 --> 01:07:55,600 or...or even for the administration? 1211 01:07:55,600 --> 01:07:57,800 I really wanted us to have a fresh start, 1212 01:07:57,800 --> 01:08:01,240 commissioners who haven't done this sort of review before. 1213 01:08:01,240 --> 01:08:03,200 There must be no jumping to conclusions, 1214 01:08:03,200 --> 01:08:05,880 and I think that that's absolutely what we're going to get. 1215 01:08:05,880 --> 01:08:10,120 For me, it was very important that I had nothing to do with... 1216 01:08:11,480 --> 01:08:12,920 ..whatever happened next. 1217 01:08:14,200 --> 01:08:17,200 The Prime Minister's senior adviser on ethnic minorities, 1218 01:08:17,200 --> 01:08:19,479 Samuel Kasumu, is to stand down. 1219 01:08:19,479 --> 01:08:21,520 News of his departure comes the day after 1220 01:08:21,520 --> 01:08:24,240 the publication of a government-commissioned report 1221 01:08:24,240 --> 01:08:27,920 on race that has been heavily criticised by campaigners. 1222 01:08:27,920 --> 01:08:29,359 PROTESTERS: Black Lives Matter! 1223 01:08:29,359 --> 01:08:32,680 After all the calls for black lives to matter, 1224 01:08:32,680 --> 01:08:35,319 the answer came that all the accounts we've heard 1225 01:08:35,319 --> 01:08:40,960 of discrimination do not tell the tale of a racist country - 1226 01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:45,720 that there is no proof of institutional racism in the UK. 1227 01:08:45,720 --> 01:08:47,240 It points to social class, 1228 01:08:47,240 --> 01:08:49,040 geography and family set-up 1229 01:08:49,040 --> 01:08:52,240 as more important factors in life than race, 1230 01:08:52,240 --> 01:08:55,399 arguing that the UK should be held up as a model 1231 01:08:55,399 --> 01:08:57,720 for other white-majority countries. 1232 01:08:57,720 --> 01:09:00,359 This distinguished group was tasked with reviewing 1233 01:09:00,359 --> 01:09:02,920 inequality in the UK, and they focused on education, 1234 01:09:02,920 --> 01:09:05,560 employment, crime and policing, and health. 1235 01:09:06,720 --> 01:09:09,680 The report does not deny that institutional racism exists 1236 01:09:09,680 --> 01:09:13,640 in the UK. Rather, the report did not find conclusive evidence of it 1237 01:09:13,640 --> 01:09:15,760 in the specific areas it examined. 1238 01:09:17,520 --> 01:09:20,439 I'm a big defender of the Sewell Report. 1239 01:09:20,439 --> 01:09:23,160 I think people will say that the government was trying 1240 01:09:23,160 --> 01:09:25,880 to put forward their own agenda. 1241 01:09:25,880 --> 01:09:29,680 Now I think, actually, the government was attempting to find 1242 01:09:29,680 --> 01:09:33,000 the real answers to the problems that were being raised. 1243 01:09:33,000 --> 01:09:34,880 I mean, what I can say is that 1244 01:09:34,880 --> 01:09:38,640 we don't need a commission or a review to tell us 1245 01:09:38,640 --> 01:09:41,560 that suspicionless stop-and-search should be repealed. 1246 01:09:41,560 --> 01:09:44,560 They're just letting the government get away with 1247 01:09:44,560 --> 01:09:47,479 looking like the government is doing something 1248 01:09:47,479 --> 01:09:51,200 and taking you seriously without actually doing anything. 1249 01:09:52,279 --> 01:09:55,760 The report came out around the time of April Fool's. 1250 01:09:55,760 --> 01:09:57,920 Morning, guys. Morning. Morning, my slime. 1251 01:09:57,920 --> 01:09:59,360 How's the race report going? 1252 01:09:59,360 --> 01:10:01,280 Er, yeah, good. We've been having a bit of a brainstorm. 1253 01:10:01,280 --> 01:10:03,160 A BAME-storm. 1254 01:10:01,280 --> 01:10:03,160 THEY LAUGH 1255 01:10:03,160 --> 01:10:05,160 You know, if you have to do a race report, 1256 01:10:05,160 --> 01:10:07,400 it means there's a problem with race, 1257 01:10:07,400 --> 01:10:09,440 if you have to commission a report. 1258 01:10:09,440 --> 01:10:11,400 And we've decided to be more inclusive 1259 01:10:11,400 --> 01:10:14,280 by renaming Big Ben, "Tall Tunde." 1260 01:10:14,280 --> 01:10:16,120 BIG BEN CHIMES AND DISTORTS 1261 01:10:16,120 --> 01:10:17,160 April Fool's! 1262 01:10:18,480 --> 01:10:20,920 You try and create laughter so that the real pain 1263 01:10:20,920 --> 01:10:23,240 and the actual bitterness of the issue, 1264 01:10:23,240 --> 01:10:24,960 you're sort of shielded against it. 1265 01:10:24,960 --> 01:10:27,880 Er, no, but we've done the report and we found that there is 1266 01:10:27,880 --> 01:10:30,440 no evidence for institutional racism in Britain. 1267 01:10:31,480 --> 01:10:33,800 Ah! 1268 01:10:31,480 --> 01:10:33,800 HE LAUGHS 1269 01:10:33,800 --> 01:10:35,480 April Fool's! 1270 01:10:37,400 --> 01:10:39,920 Yeah, that, that one is true. Yeah, that is. 1271 01:10:39,920 --> 01:10:42,280 HE LAUGHS WEAKLY 1272 01:10:42,280 --> 01:10:43,600 What? 1273 01:10:43,600 --> 01:10:45,960 It truly felt like an April Fool's joke. 1274 01:10:45,960 --> 01:10:48,320 You know, it's a huge slap in the face 1275 01:10:48,320 --> 01:10:50,040 of everyone who has had, you know, 1276 01:10:50,040 --> 01:10:54,200 real, life-defining racism in their life here in Britain, 1277 01:10:54,200 --> 01:10:56,400 to be told it doesn't exist. 1278 01:11:05,520 --> 01:11:09,560 REPORTER: Once again, the eyes of the world are on Minneapolis, 1279 01:11:09,560 --> 01:11:13,480 the city braced for the trial of the former police officer 1280 01:11:13,480 --> 01:11:16,520 accused of murdering George Floyd, 1281 01:11:16,520 --> 01:11:20,840 tense in the knowledge this will be a defining moment for America. 1282 01:11:23,520 --> 01:11:27,280 Today starts a landmark trial. 1283 01:11:28,840 --> 01:11:33,880 There will be a referendum on equality and justice for all. 1284 01:11:33,880 --> 01:11:36,400 No justice! ALL: No peace! 1285 01:11:36,400 --> 01:11:38,880 No justice! ALL: No peace! 1286 01:11:38,880 --> 01:11:41,520 Almost a year after the world was shocked by the video 1287 01:11:41,520 --> 01:11:45,000 of George Floyd's death, the police officer seen kneeling on his neck 1288 01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:49,080 is standing trial in Minnesota's first trial to be televised live. 1289 01:11:49,080 --> 01:11:53,440 No justice! ALL: No peace! No justice! ALL: No peace! 1290 01:11:53,440 --> 01:11:56,680 For many, this trial will be a defining moment 1291 01:11:56,680 --> 01:11:59,120 for race relations in America - 1292 01:11:59,120 --> 01:12:02,720 the outcome uncertain and the stakes high. 1293 01:12:02,720 --> 01:12:05,480 Chauvin is in the courtroom. 1294 01:12:05,480 --> 01:12:08,600 The family goes in this court seeking justice 1295 01:12:08,600 --> 01:12:10,800 for all of us in America. 1296 01:12:10,800 --> 01:12:12,360 There was a lot of uncertainty, 1297 01:12:12,360 --> 01:12:19,120 whether or not a jury would see value in the life of George Floyd 1298 01:12:19,120 --> 01:12:23,720 and would see criminal conduct at the hands of Derek Chauvin. 1299 01:12:23,720 --> 01:12:29,920 There is no guarantee that because an officer kills someone, 1300 01:12:29,920 --> 01:12:31,800 that it's caught on camera, 1301 01:12:31,800 --> 01:12:33,800 that there are witnesses, 1302 01:12:33,800 --> 01:12:36,560 that there will be justice and accountability. 1303 01:12:36,560 --> 01:12:40,760 Have you made a decision, uh, today, whether you intend to testify 1304 01:12:40,760 --> 01:12:44,680 or whether you intend to invoke your Fifth Amendment privilege? 1305 01:12:44,680 --> 01:12:48,200 Er, I will invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege today. 1306 01:12:48,200 --> 01:12:50,800 The defendant has the right not to testify. 1307 01:12:51,960 --> 01:12:54,440 I just sat there and just stared at him. 1308 01:12:54,440 --> 01:12:57,920 And I seen him with my...his knee on my nephew's neck. 1309 01:12:57,920 --> 01:13:00,440 I seen my nephew begging for his life, 1310 01:13:00,440 --> 01:13:01,920 and he's just sitting there. 1311 01:13:03,400 --> 01:13:07,160 He's destroyed a lot of lives because of his act of aggression. 1312 01:13:08,160 --> 01:13:11,480 We plan to prove to you beyond a reasonable doubt 1313 01:13:11,480 --> 01:13:13,960 that Mr Chauvin was anything other than innocent. 1314 01:13:13,960 --> 01:13:16,360 It's a case that's going to be important to America 1315 01:13:16,360 --> 01:13:20,640 and our discussion around systemic issues and around equal justice. 1316 01:13:20,640 --> 01:13:23,120 We're going to ask that you find him guilty of murder 1317 01:13:23,120 --> 01:13:24,640 in the second degree, 1318 01:13:24,640 --> 01:13:28,080 murder in the third degree and second-degree manslaughter. 1319 01:13:28,080 --> 01:13:30,800 It was important, in the opening statement... 1320 01:13:30,800 --> 01:13:33,920 You will hear him say, "Tell my kids I love 'em." 1321 01:13:33,920 --> 01:13:37,400 ..for the jurors to feel the humanity. 1322 01:13:37,400 --> 01:13:41,320 You will be able to hear Mr Floyd saying, "Please, I can't breathe." 1323 01:13:41,320 --> 01:13:43,200 "Please, man, please." 1324 01:13:43,200 --> 01:13:45,240 And I figured not much needed to be said. 1325 01:13:45,240 --> 01:13:46,720 You just see it for yourself. 1326 01:13:49,400 --> 01:13:52,520 Please, the knee on my neck, I can't breathe shit. 1327 01:13:52,520 --> 01:13:55,600 You will hear Mr Floyd as he's crying out. 1328 01:13:57,080 --> 01:14:00,760 You will hear his voice get heavier. 1329 01:14:00,760 --> 01:14:02,720 You will hear his words further apart. 1330 01:14:04,080 --> 01:14:08,120 You will see that his respiration gets shallower and shallower. 1331 01:14:08,120 --> 01:14:10,280 Well, you got him down, man. Let him breathe, at least, man. 1332 01:14:10,280 --> 01:14:11,480 I can't breathe. 1333 01:14:11,480 --> 01:14:14,280 Those videos were critical. 1334 01:14:14,280 --> 01:14:16,160 Critically important. 1335 01:14:16,160 --> 01:14:18,680 When the ambulance arrived, he was not responsive 1336 01:14:18,680 --> 01:14:23,400 and the defendant had to know what was right beneath him. 1337 01:14:25,040 --> 01:14:26,960 And when you see it, 1338 01:14:26,960 --> 01:14:29,440 just sort of that feeling that you get, 1339 01:14:29,440 --> 01:14:33,240 that understanding that something terribly wrong is happening, 1340 01:14:33,240 --> 01:14:37,280 that was something that we wanted to get out right away. 1341 01:14:37,280 --> 01:14:40,480 George Floyd begged until he could speak no more, 1342 01:14:40,480 --> 01:14:42,600 and the defendant continued. 1343 01:14:42,600 --> 01:14:46,120 And so we settled on the theme of "believe your eyes". 1344 01:14:46,120 --> 01:14:50,520 This case is exactly what you thought when you saw it first, 1345 01:14:50,520 --> 01:14:51,920 when you saw that video. 1346 01:14:51,920 --> 01:14:55,160 It is exactly that. You can believe your eyes. 1347 01:14:55,160 --> 01:14:56,880 It was important the jury believe, 1348 01:14:56,880 --> 01:15:00,720 because we knew that that was our best evidence. 1349 01:15:00,720 --> 01:15:07,240 And it's very difficult to convict a police officer of wrongdoing. 1350 01:15:08,480 --> 01:15:10,480 Think of the Rodney King case - 1351 01:15:10,480 --> 01:15:14,120 an assault captured on video, with an acquittal. 1352 01:15:14,120 --> 01:15:18,640 We, the jury, find the defendant not guilty of the crime of assault. 1353 01:15:18,640 --> 01:15:22,000 Because they were somehow able to convince this jury 1354 01:15:22,000 --> 01:15:24,120 that they didn't need to believe their eyes. 1355 01:15:24,120 --> 01:15:28,720 And we really wanted to make sure that that didn't happen here. 1356 01:15:28,720 --> 01:15:30,560 This wasn't policing. 1357 01:15:30,560 --> 01:15:32,200 This was murder. 1358 01:15:32,200 --> 01:15:35,240 The defendant is guilty of all three counts. 1359 01:15:36,800 --> 01:15:38,400 All of them. 1360 01:15:38,400 --> 01:15:42,440 The defence was first trying to argue 1361 01:15:42,440 --> 01:15:45,040 that this was a justified use of force. 1362 01:15:45,040 --> 01:15:48,200 I felt that Derek Chauvin was justified, 1363 01:15:48,200 --> 01:15:51,720 was acting with objective reasonableness, 1364 01:15:51,720 --> 01:15:55,040 following Minneapolis Police Department policy. 1365 01:15:55,040 --> 01:15:58,520 Derek Chauvin did exactly what he had been trained to do 1366 01:15:58,520 --> 01:16:00,800 over the course of his 19-year career. 1367 01:16:00,800 --> 01:16:04,080 And that is why we wanted Chief Arradondo 1368 01:16:04,080 --> 01:16:08,000 to be particularly compelling and brave. 1369 01:16:10,200 --> 01:16:14,720 Chief Arradondo, he had to make the decision on whether or not he, 1370 01:16:14,720 --> 01:16:17,680 in some ways, broke that blue wall of silence. 1371 01:16:17,680 --> 01:16:22,400 When do you believe...or do you have a belief as to when this... 1372 01:16:22,400 --> 01:16:25,640 I felt that this...was a moment... 1373 01:16:25,640 --> 01:16:27,440 It has to be objectively reasonable. 1374 01:16:27,440 --> 01:16:30,520 ..where there was a moral obligation to speak out. 1375 01:16:30,520 --> 01:16:32,160 So I did. 1376 01:16:32,160 --> 01:16:37,680 Once Mr Floyd had stopped resisting, and clearly when Mr Floyd 1377 01:16:37,680 --> 01:16:39,680 was no longer responsive, 1378 01:16:39,680 --> 01:16:44,560 to continue to apply that level of force - 1379 01:16:44,560 --> 01:16:48,960 that, in no way, shape or form, is anything that is by policy. 1380 01:16:48,960 --> 01:16:50,960 It is not part of our training, 1381 01:16:50,960 --> 01:16:54,160 and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values. 1382 01:16:54,160 --> 01:16:59,840 Mr Floyd was pleading that one person wearing a uniform 1383 01:16:59,840 --> 01:17:01,800 that day would come to his aid. 1384 01:17:02,920 --> 01:17:04,120 And we failed him. 1385 01:17:04,120 --> 01:17:06,480 REPORTER: Prosecutors say Chauvin betrayed his badge 1386 01:17:06,480 --> 01:17:07,880 when he used excessive force. 1387 01:17:07,880 --> 01:17:10,480 Because human behaviour is unpredictable. 1388 01:17:10,480 --> 01:17:13,520 Chauvin's lawyers have argued that Floyd's death was really 1389 01:17:13,520 --> 01:17:17,120 an overdose caused by the fentanyl found in his blood. 1390 01:17:17,120 --> 01:17:20,600 The toxicology, the fentanyl and methamphetamine, 1391 01:17:20,600 --> 01:17:25,480 all of those combined to cause Mr Floyd's death. 1392 01:17:25,480 --> 01:17:29,200 Did some of the drugs in his system have something to do with it? 1393 01:17:29,200 --> 01:17:30,320 Did it play a role? 1394 01:17:30,320 --> 01:17:34,240 Maybe, but certainly was not the actual cause of his death. 1395 01:17:34,240 --> 01:17:39,360 What today remains your opinion as to the cause of death? 1396 01:17:39,360 --> 01:17:41,080 That's cardiopulmonary arrest, 1397 01:17:41,080 --> 01:17:43,240 complicating law enforcement subdual restraint 1398 01:17:43,240 --> 01:17:44,800 and neck compression. 1399 01:17:44,800 --> 01:17:47,280 GAYLE KING: ..with closing arguments all set today 1400 01:17:47,280 --> 01:17:50,920 in the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin... 1401 01:17:50,920 --> 01:17:55,520 The State has failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. 1402 01:17:55,520 --> 01:17:58,760 No justice! GROUP: No peace! 1403 01:17:58,760 --> 01:18:00,920 PRESENTER: After they hear closing arguments, Jamie, 1404 01:18:00,920 --> 01:18:02,600 what are the next steps for the jurors? 1405 01:18:02,600 --> 01:18:03,920 They will be sequestered. 1406 01:18:03,920 --> 01:18:07,040 That means no contact with the outside world. 1407 01:18:09,680 --> 01:18:11,640 And how sweet it is to come out on the day 1408 01:18:11,640 --> 01:18:17,040 where we may turn this country around with a guilty verdict. 1409 01:18:17,040 --> 01:18:20,120 INDISTINCT CHANTING 1410 01:18:25,120 --> 01:18:27,080 PROTESTERS: All three counts! 1411 01:18:27,080 --> 01:18:30,520 All three counts! All three counts! 1412 01:18:32,600 --> 01:18:34,480 When the verdict was going to be read... 1413 01:18:35,520 --> 01:18:37,080 Please, be seated. 1414 01:18:40,000 --> 01:18:42,840 Members of the jury, I understand you have a verdict. 1415 01:18:42,840 --> 01:18:46,920 ..I get into the courtroom and one of the family members was there. 1416 01:18:48,080 --> 01:18:51,240 I just remember thinking to myself as I saw him, "What in the world 1417 01:18:51,240 --> 01:18:56,880 "am I going to tell this person if the verdict comes back not guilty?" 1418 01:19:03,400 --> 01:19:05,280 SOUND ON TANNOY: Members of the jury, 1419 01:19:05,280 --> 01:19:07,440 I will now read the verdicts as they will appear in the permanent records 1420 01:19:07,440 --> 01:19:08,760 of the Fourth Judicial District. 1421 01:19:08,760 --> 01:19:10,480 The State of Minnesota plaintiff 1422 01:19:10,480 --> 01:19:13,160 versus Derek Michael Chauvin, defendant. 1423 01:19:13,160 --> 01:19:19,560 Verdict, count one, court file number 27, CR2012646. 1424 01:19:20,640 --> 01:19:23,400 "We the jury in the above entitled matter, as to count one, 1425 01:19:23,400 --> 01:19:26,640 "unintentional second-degree murder while committing a felony, 1426 01:19:26,640 --> 01:19:28,960 "find the defendant guilty." 1427 01:19:28,960 --> 01:19:31,240 CHEERING 1428 01:19:34,000 --> 01:19:36,760 "We, the jury, in the above entitled matter, as to count two, 1429 01:19:36,760 --> 01:19:39,920 "third-degree murder, perpetrating an eminently dangerous act, 1430 01:19:39,920 --> 01:19:41,320 "find the defendant guilty." 1431 01:19:41,320 --> 01:19:42,800 CHEERING 1432 01:19:47,520 --> 01:19:50,080 "Verdict, count three, second-degree manslaughter, 1433 01:19:50,080 --> 01:19:52,760 "culpable negligence, find the defendant guilty." 1434 01:19:52,760 --> 01:19:55,400 Guilty! Guilty! 1435 01:19:55,400 --> 01:19:57,600 CHEERING 1436 01:20:00,040 --> 01:20:05,080 I cried tears of joy and thankfulness. 1437 01:20:05,080 --> 01:20:07,480 We were triumphant. 1438 01:20:07,480 --> 01:20:12,280 I feel vindicated but I also feel emboldened, because today 1439 01:20:12,280 --> 01:20:16,000 the Black Lives Matter movement served notice on you that, 1440 01:20:16,000 --> 01:20:20,240 going forward, if you take our lives, there will be consequences. 1441 01:20:20,240 --> 01:20:24,560 Say his name! George Floyd! Say his name! George Floyd! 1442 01:20:25,600 --> 01:20:28,760 I didn't cry, I didn't holler, I didn't scream, I didn't do anything. 1443 01:20:28,760 --> 01:20:32,080 I knew that that was just the right thing, so in my mind, OK, 1444 01:20:32,080 --> 01:20:33,760 we can move on from this. 1445 01:20:33,760 --> 01:20:35,400 Yeah, this is done. 1446 01:20:35,400 --> 01:20:36,440 This part's done. 1447 01:20:37,600 --> 01:20:42,200 We knew that the verdict was not going to ever 1448 01:20:42,200 --> 01:20:44,240 bring back George Floyd. 1449 01:20:44,240 --> 01:20:45,640 We're adjourned. 1450 01:20:45,640 --> 01:20:49,880 But it was a symbol of hope that we can fight back 1451 01:20:49,880 --> 01:20:54,760 against an oppressive system and get some measure of justice. 1452 01:21:01,320 --> 01:21:06,160 I know people who have been killed by the police. 1453 01:21:07,760 --> 01:21:11,560 I've never seen an officer get that much time. 1454 01:21:11,560 --> 01:21:14,040 It is a kind of relief 1455 01:21:14,040 --> 01:21:20,520 and a releasing for all the people who didn't get to hear "Guilty." 1456 01:21:35,960 --> 01:21:37,760 And then, 1457 01:21:37,760 --> 01:21:40,520 keeping with the George Floyd case... 1458 01:21:40,520 --> 01:21:42,280 REPORTER: In convicting PC Monk, 1459 01:21:42,280 --> 01:21:46,480 the jury rejected his claim that he'd used reasonable force. 1460 01:21:46,480 --> 01:21:49,400 ..you see the conviction of a British cop... 1461 01:21:49,400 --> 01:21:51,600 REPORTER: Anything to say to the family, Mr Monk? 1462 01:21:51,600 --> 01:21:55,120 ..for killing Dalian Atkinson, the former footballer. 1463 01:21:55,120 --> 01:21:58,160 It felt like a huge moment. 1464 01:21:58,160 --> 01:22:00,800 Benjamin Monk's the first police officer convicted 1465 01:22:00,800 --> 01:22:05,160 of manslaughter while on duty in England and Wales in 35 years. 1466 01:22:05,160 --> 01:22:09,920 In terms of what's shifted with the police, in terms of race, 1467 01:22:09,920 --> 01:22:12,280 police potentially understand themselves 1468 01:22:12,280 --> 01:22:14,520 as being under far more scrutiny. 1469 01:22:14,520 --> 01:22:20,320 But Dalian Atkinson, that verdict of manslaughter is... 1470 01:22:20,320 --> 01:22:22,120 It's a rare one. 1471 01:22:22,120 --> 01:22:23,800 Two officers are concerned here, 1472 01:22:23,800 --> 01:22:26,360 and one of those officers is now in prison. And I think 1473 01:22:26,360 --> 01:22:30,400 it can help to reinforce this sort of "one bad apple" 1474 01:22:30,400 --> 01:22:35,640 perception of police violence, and therefore the norm is OK, 1475 01:22:35,640 --> 01:22:40,960 when, actually, the norm of policing is the problem. 1476 01:22:40,960 --> 01:22:43,400 It's not a few bad apples 1477 01:22:43,400 --> 01:22:48,320 and simply locking up officers that get caught going too far. 1478 01:22:48,320 --> 01:22:51,840 It's not going to stop it from happening again and again. 1479 01:22:51,840 --> 01:22:53,680 So, the thing about policing is, 1480 01:22:53,680 --> 01:22:56,760 policing only ever changes when there's been a catastrophe. 1481 01:22:56,760 --> 01:23:00,120 So, after George Floyd, I went to Chiefs' Council 1482 01:23:00,120 --> 01:23:03,840 in December 2021 to say to them, 1483 01:23:03,840 --> 01:23:07,120 "You have got to use this moment to admit we are still 1484 01:23:07,120 --> 01:23:10,000 "institutionally racist, apologise for it 1485 01:23:10,000 --> 01:23:11,640 "and then launch the plan saying 1486 01:23:11,640 --> 01:23:13,640 "you're going to do something about it." 1487 01:23:13,640 --> 01:23:15,560 And, in January, I was told the Chief Constables 1488 01:23:15,560 --> 01:23:17,080 had voted against me. 1489 01:23:17,080 --> 01:23:19,600 And that's when I decided to retire. 1490 01:23:35,800 --> 01:23:37,160 Well, one possibility... 1491 01:23:39,720 --> 01:23:41,520 ..is that it doesn't matter enough 1492 01:23:41,520 --> 01:23:44,280 to the people who can make it change. 1493 01:23:57,480 --> 01:23:59,520 They took a man's potential away from him, 1494 01:23:59,520 --> 01:24:02,520 and that is nobody's fault but theirs. 1495 01:24:02,520 --> 01:24:05,800 And the fact that no-one was held accountable for it directly... 1496 01:24:06,920 --> 01:24:08,720 ..I just don't think that's fair. 1497 01:24:18,240 --> 01:24:20,360 Everything always feel fragile. 1498 01:24:20,360 --> 01:24:22,040 And I think that was a moment, 1499 01:24:22,040 --> 01:24:26,360 and there was a moment where we took charge of the narrative, 1500 01:24:26,360 --> 01:24:30,240 and look how resentful people have been about it. 1501 01:24:32,200 --> 01:24:34,760 Like, "How dare they?" Yes. 1502 01:24:34,760 --> 01:24:38,840 "How dare they say that they matter?" Mm. 1503 01:24:38,840 --> 01:24:41,320 There's quite a lot of that, I feel, in the last few years. 1504 01:24:41,320 --> 01:24:42,960 There's quite a lot of, like... The eye rolling. 1505 01:24:42,960 --> 01:24:45,240 "Isn't this over?" It's like, "You tell me." 1506 01:24:46,240 --> 01:24:47,640 How does that make you feel? 1507 01:24:47,640 --> 01:24:50,320 Really pissed off. Frustrated and exhausted. 1508 01:24:50,320 --> 01:24:53,440 And angry. It pisses me off. It makes me angry. 1509 01:24:54,520 --> 01:24:58,400 The backlash is about ideas and about an understanding 1510 01:24:58,400 --> 01:25:02,600 of what norms we are expected to accept, you know? 1511 01:25:02,600 --> 01:25:05,800 But the authoritarian lean towards 1512 01:25:05,800 --> 01:25:09,120 attempting to shut down these conversations now, 1513 01:25:09,120 --> 01:25:10,680 I just feel like you can't really 1514 01:25:10,680 --> 01:25:12,520 put the feathers back into the pillowcase. 1515 01:25:12,520 --> 01:25:16,200 At the end of the day, like, the minds have been changed. 1516 01:25:16,200 --> 01:25:19,520 Backlashes don't erase legacies. 1517 01:25:19,520 --> 01:25:22,440 I think it's about recognising how much that moment in time 1518 01:25:22,440 --> 01:25:27,360 impacted so many people, but I think my personal experience is 1519 01:25:27,360 --> 01:25:32,120 the severity of that level of racism has got significantly worse. 1520 01:25:33,560 --> 01:25:35,960 I'd been out with some friends. 1521 01:25:35,960 --> 01:25:38,840 I was approached by a man who I didn't know. 1522 01:25:38,840 --> 01:25:41,880 It quite quickly moved into, you know, "Where are you from? 1523 01:25:41,880 --> 01:25:43,240 "Where are you really from?" 1524 01:25:43,240 --> 01:25:46,120 You know, "Black people will never be British." 1525 01:25:46,120 --> 01:25:48,520 I think the phrase he used was, erm, 1526 01:25:48,520 --> 01:25:52,200 "Pigs that are born in stables don't grow up to be horses." 1527 01:25:52,200 --> 01:25:56,400 And then, yeah, he came back 20 minutes later with a gun 1528 01:25:56,400 --> 01:25:59,400 and a knife and pointed it in my face. 1529 01:26:01,520 --> 01:26:05,000 We've ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, 1530 01:26:05,000 --> 01:26:07,840 equity and inclusion policies, 1531 01:26:07,840 --> 01:26:12,000 and our country will be woke no longer. 1532 01:26:14,240 --> 01:26:17,840 We have not ever been able to escape this notion 1533 01:26:17,840 --> 01:26:22,640 that we go three steps and then we're pushed ten steps backwards. 1534 01:26:22,640 --> 01:26:25,160 We've stopped all government censorship 1535 01:26:25,160 --> 01:26:28,800 and brought back free speech in America. 1536 01:26:28,800 --> 01:26:31,480 It's back. 1537 01:26:28,800 --> 01:26:31,480 CHEERING 1538 01:26:31,480 --> 01:26:34,280 There is one person that President Trump should pardon 1539 01:26:34,280 --> 01:26:36,640 from federal charges forthwith. That person is Derek Chauvin. 1540 01:26:36,640 --> 01:26:40,120 Elon Musk commented on X, "Something to think about." 1541 01:26:42,560 --> 01:26:46,400 There will always be forces that will seek to diminish us 1542 01:26:46,400 --> 01:26:49,480 and stifle us and keep us in our place, 1543 01:26:49,480 --> 01:26:52,680 but resistance requires that we rise up. 1544 01:26:54,040 --> 01:26:57,280 Any black person can put themselves in that situation and think, 1545 01:26:57,280 --> 01:26:58,520 "What if that had been me? 1546 01:26:58,520 --> 01:27:03,320 "What if that was my husband or my brother, or my uncle, or my father?" 1547 01:27:03,320 --> 01:27:05,400 And if this could happen to George Floyd 1548 01:27:05,400 --> 01:27:09,360 under these circumstances, over an alleged counterfeit $20 bill, 1549 01:27:09,360 --> 01:27:13,160 it could happen to any of us, under any range of circumstances, 1550 01:27:13,160 --> 01:27:16,480 and if we don't stand up, speak up and fight back, 1551 01:27:16,480 --> 01:27:19,320 it could very well happen to us next. 1552 01:28:34,160 --> 01:28:36,720 To discover more about the power of protest slogans 1553 01:28:36,720 --> 01:28:38,560 and the reactions that follow, 1554 01:28:38,560 --> 01:28:41,640 watch bonus content from the experts at the Open University. 1555 01:28:41,640 --> 01:28:47,520 Scan the QR code on screen or go to bbc.co.uk/backlash 1556 01:28:47,520 --> 01:28:51,240 and follow the link to the Open University. 1557 01:28:51,240 --> 01:28:53,800 # Look, black ain't just a single fuckin' colour, man 1558 01:28:53,800 --> 01:28:54,840 # There's shades to it 1559 01:28:54,840 --> 01:28:57,520 # Her hair's straight and thick, but mine's got waves in it 1560 01:28:57,520 --> 01:28:58,760 # Black is not divisive 1561 01:28:58,760 --> 01:29:00,360 # They been lyin' and I hate the shit 1562 01:29:00,360 --> 01:29:03,480 # Black has never been a competition, we all make this shit. #