Natasha Johnson, 21 from Buckinghamshire, is a co-founder of ‘All Black Lives Matter UK’, ABLM, which gained their 10,000 social media following after protesting for 10 weeks straight after the murder of George Floyd in the US.
Natasha said the message behind ABLM, is: “That all black lives do matter, and all black lives are being affected both physically and mentally.”
Natasha’s ethnicity is black Caribbean and Jamaican and her heritage was celebrated a lot growing up.
When talking about experiencing racism at a younger age, Natasha half-heartedly jokes: “I’ve been experiencing racism for as long as I’ve been able to talk,
“A memorable moment was in Year Five, I was desperate for the toilet, I was getting so stressed out about it I started crying, the teacher let all the other white kids go before me. I ended up pissing myself.”
Now she is older, racist encounters begin as such, Natasha reflects on someone she knew throughout her teenage years, she said: “On a night out a guy came to talk to my friend and asked if she was out with ‘that fat black bitch Tasha’ he tried to fight me. A year later he ended up punching me in the face, it was like it had come full circle.”
She laughed and struggled to explain what experiencing racism is like.
“It’s weird, it’s odd, because that’s something I can’t change but I’m tired of explaining how upset it makes me.
“It won’t make those people change, they don't care about how I feel, it doesn’t matter to them.”
Image Credit: Natasha Johnson via Instagram
Natasha smoked a cigarette whilst explaining, seeming relaxed, as though she’d heard all these questions before, as though it’s so ‘normal’ for her to face racism, her view on the world has been affected by this.
“At first it made me resentful, for some people, they will always justify [racism], there’s no point in arguing,
“But now I know there will always be bad people, it’s pushed me to fight more for equality and what’s right.”
She expressed her irritation about black stereotypes still being reinforced today.
Knife crime is still associated with black men in London, despite Glasgow being the knife crime capital up until 2015, with a 96% white population.
“Violence has nothing to do with DNA or genetics. It’s like reverse psychology, white people know this, it’s all projection and that’s scary.” She said.
All Black Lives Matter Manchester branch spoke about the mass of support they received after hosting the St. Peter’s square protest on 7th June.
Tyrek Morris, 21, a student in Manchester and Black Lives Matter activist said he originally helped co-create ABLM Manchester as a platform for himself but it worked well for other people to utlise it to speak out.
Reflecting on George Floyd’s death, Tyrek said: “I feel upset but also numb, I can’t watch someone die on a video and feel nothing.
“We can’t just do one protest and dip, Natasha said to me that this is going to change the rest of our lives.”
He joked that before starting ABLM, his biggest responsibility was paying his car insurance, but now he has an organisation that continues to work tirelessly for justice.
Tyrek’s main concerns were that people weren’t genuine in their support, he said: “I’m happy people acknowledged it but it seemed very performative.”
Supporting Black Lives Matter, BLM, because it was a trending hashtag became an issue within the community, many felt like non people of colour were trying to clear their conscience.
Tyrek revealed he has a pessimistic view on some supporters unfortunately.
The main demands set by ABLM were to educate and to address the structured racism within the police force.
Both Tyrek and Natasha expressed how important education and decolonising the curriculum is, most black people learn about black history from learning at home.
“If black history was taught, tension wouldn’t be as high, let’s take a step back and look after a black man.” Tyrek said.
Black Lives Matter had a resurgence in media coverage and new supporters after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was murdered by a police officer on 25th May 2020.
In the US, the police force has been highly criticised with many people re-popularising ACAB, ‘All Cops are Bastards’.
President Trump has also come under fire for his lack of support towards the movement.
Dr Sharon Austin is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida.
Dr Austin was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee in an African American household and has now been living in Florida for the past 20 years.
Regarding the recent US Presidential election, Sharon believes her view is similar to most Americans.
“I voted for Joe Biden, I think most Americans agree that it was a legitimate outcome. President Trump is not going to have the election overturned because he can’t prove that it was fraudulent.” She said.
Dr Austin has confidence that Biden will help improve the lives of people of colour in America.
“He is very experienced and compassionate; he is qualified to serve as president and seems to care about the plight of the people.
“I think our country needs a president who can be respectful, civil and can accept constructive criticism. I also like Kamala Harris and agree with many of her views.” She said.
Joe Biden will be the 46th president of the United States, receiving the most votes in history for any other president.
Biden received over 78 million votes and won over typical Republican voting states such as Arizona and Georgia.
Dr Austin has been keeping up to date with the Black Lives Matter movement.
“I believe the anger and passion has died down, but not completely.
“A lot of people are still motivated to address issues associated with racial justice because of Mr. Floyd’s murder.” Dr Austin said.
People will continue to fight for the black community and elevate their voices and stories.
“As a black woman I have strength and compassion. We endure both racism and sexism but we find ways to overcome these barriers.
“We support black female candidates more than any other group and are responsible for Joe Biden’s victory this year.” Dr Austin said.
There is hope in America once again for their new president elect to continue the fight of injustice for people of colour.
Black Lives Matter.
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