Anger at continuing examples of brutal, racist treatment and deaths of black people in police custody has sparked a wave of huge demonstrations not just in the US in response to the killing of George Floyd, but around the world.
In Britain, too, tens of thousands of mainly younger people, black and white, have joined street protests in towns and cities.
Some of these – like the VE Day street parties celebrated by the BBC and right wing press, or the large crowds that have surged to seaside resorts and beauty spots, especially since the Cummings scandal – have ignored or unwittingly breached social distancing rules. One famously tore down the statue of notorious slave trader Edward Colston, and dropped it into the dock from where his trade had operated and caused such suffering.
It’s ironic to see that the few scuffles that occurred and the rough treatment of an offensive statue have triggered more concern from ministers than the injustice and discrimination that triggered the events.
Full story in The Lowdown, 10 June 2020