Thousands of people in Britain today got behind global protests against the death of black man George Floyd after a police officer knelt on his neck in America.
The public united with BBC radio stations, major record labels, music industry groups and artists for an online ‘Black Out Tuesday’ as the US is gripped by unrest.
And Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield vowed to ‘support, reflect and re-educate ourselves’ as they supported the Black Lives Matter movement on ITV’s This Morning.
People across the UK have tweeted a picture of a black box to back The Show Must Be Paused project created by Atlantic Records, which sees people fall silent online.
Among the comments on Twitter today were ‘one race, the human race’ and how people ‘need to stand against any form of racism, together, united, peacefully’.
Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo held back tears today as she revealed she missed her show yesterday over the death, with her mental health having been ‘in a really bad way’.
Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died last week after white police officer Derek Chauvin put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nine minutes.
Radio stations and TV channels are involved with the protest, with MTV and Comedy Central going silent for the length of time Chauvin knelt on Mr Floyd’s neck.
Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield vowed to ‘support, reflect and re-educate’ as the team on ITV’s This Morning threw their support behind the Black Out Tuesday campaign today
BBC Radio 1Xtra is hosting a series of discussions, while Radio 1 and 2 is featuring moments of reflection, and Kiss and Magic imposed a social media blackout.
A second Black Lives Matter protest in Britain is planned for Hyde Park in London from 1pm tomorrow, after the first saw a march across the capital last Sunday.
Two further demonstrations in London are scheduled for Parliament Square this Saturday at 1pm and the US Embassy this Sunday at 2pm.
This Morning presenters Willoughby and Schofield joined the ‘blackout’, with the daytime show going dark at 11am with a black screen featuring the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ in white lettering.
Schofield said: ‘We at This Morning are pledging to support, reflect and re-educate ourselves because it is such an important issue.’
He added: ‘We would like to take a moment to reflect, to think about how we educate ourselves, to read as much as we can today, and obviously into the future, not just for today.
‘We should take some time to mark today’s message, which simply says Black Lives Matter.’
On Radio 1 today, Ms Amfo, who has Ghanaian heritage, held back tears as she revealed that she missed her show yesterday over the death of Mr Floyd.
The London-born presenter said her mental health had been ‘in a really bad way’ over the weekend, and that she had been left crying, angry and confused.
Amfo, 36, said: ‘As you know at Radio 1 we talk about a lot about mental health and mine was in a really bad way yesterday. In fact it has been for the past few days, in particular in relation to the death of George Floyd.
‘George Floyd, an unarmed black man, who died whilst being held under arrest.
‘Now, I didn’t have the mental strength to face you guys yesterday to ask: ‘Hi, how was your weekend?’ like I usually do with my happy intention, because I know that my weekend was terrible.
‘I was sat on my sofa crying, angry, confused and also knowing…’
After a lengthy pause, she added: ‘Stuck at the news of yet another brutalised black body.’
Holding back tears, she added: ‘Knowing how the world enjoys blackness and seeing what happened to George, we – black people – get the feeling that people want our culture but they do not want us.
‘In other words, you want my talent but you don’t want me.
‘There is a false idea that racism, and in this case anti-blackness, is just name-calling and physical violence, when it is so much more insidious than that.’
Amfo read a quote from US performer Amanda Seales, which said: ‘You cannot enjoy the rhythm but ignore the blues.’
Ellie Darrall from Reading, Berkshire, was among those taking part in ‘Black Out Tuesday’ today
Wayne Read from Cornwall also posted a message in support of the protests this morning
Fatiha El-Ghorri from London was also among those in Britain getting behind the protest
Marianne Morrison from London tweeted a message in support of the project this morning
Addressing her listeners, she said: ‘I want to say to our black listeners, I hope you feel seen and heard today.
Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo (pictured in March) held back tears today as she revealed she missed her show yesterday over the death
‘And to those of you that already let me know you are doing the work to be committed to doing better, I see you, so let’s do this. Let’s all be anti-racist.’
Earlier in the day Amfo joined the ‘blackout’ by sharing an image of a black box on her Instagram account, asking her followers to ‘really take some time to think about the impact black people and our essence have had on your life’.
Also on the show, presenter Alison Hammond cried as she spoke to Willoughby and Schofield about how Mr Floyd’s death had affected her.
Speaking over the phone, Hammond, whose parents are from Jamaica, said: ‘This is wonderful you have given this a platform on national TV. I think that’s absolutely wonderful.
‘First, I am a mother to black boys so when I saw that image of George Floyd I saw my brother, I saw my father, I saw my son.
‘I saw everybody’s son, and I was disgusted to my core. It hurt me to the pit of my stomach to think that this is 2020 and we are seeing that. Let’s be honest. This has been going on for ever.’
Organisers for The Show Must Be Paused project said they wanted today to be ‘a day to disconnect from work and reconnect with our community’ through ‘an urgent step of action to provoke accountability and change’.
George Floyd (left), a 46-year-old black man, died last week after white police officer Derek Chauvin (right) put his knee on his neck in Minneapolis on May 25 for nine minutes
Sony Music, Atlantic Records, Capitol Music Group, Warner Records and Def Jam were among the labels vowing #TheShowMustBePaused.
The likes of Radiohead, Mumford & Sons, Coldplay, Rihanna and Peter Gabriel also shared their support on social media.
Columbia Records said today ‘was not a day off’ but a chance to ‘figure out ways to move forward in solidarity’.
The project was organised by Atlantic Records executives Brianna Agyemang and Jamila Thomas before gaining momentum across the industry.
Meanwhile demonstrations have broken out across the US following the death of Mr Floyd and other allegations of police brutality against black people.
Amid a febrile atmosphere, police have clashed with protesters in cities including New York, Los Angeles and Minneapolis.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to deploy the country’s military unless state authorities stop ongoing demonstrations.
Cara Delevingne is among the celebrities who are also observing Black Out Tuesday, in which they removed themselves from social media for the day
Columbia Records said today ‘was not a day off’ but a chance to ‘figure out ways to move forward in solidarity’
Sony Music is among the record labels vowing #TheShowMustBePaused on social media today
Mr Trump’s announcement came as police under federal command forced back peaceful demonstrators in Washington DC with tear gas so that he could walk to a nearby church and pose with a bible.
The US has convulsed through another round of violence over the death of Mr Floyd, at a time when the country is already buckling under the coronavirus outbreak and the Depression-level unemployment it has caused.
Mr Trump demanded an end to the heated protests in remarks from the White House Rose Garden and vowed to use more force to achieve that aim.
He said that if governors throughout America do not deploy the National Guard in sufficient numbers to ‘dominate the streets’, the US military would step in to ‘quickly solve the problem for them’.
People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest at Trafalgar Square in London yesterday
Activists hold banners during the Black Lives Matter protest at Trafalgar Square on Sunday
And the US leader declared: ‘We have the greatest country in the world. We’re going to keep it safe.’
A military deployment by Mr Trump to US states would mark a stunning federal intervention rarely seen in modern American history.
Minutes before Mr Trump began speaking, police and National Guard soldiers began aggressively forcing back hundreds of peaceful protesters who had gathered in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House, where they were chanting against police brutality and Mr Floyd’s death in Minneapolis.
As Mr Trump spoke, tear gas canisters could be heard exploding.
Mr Floyd died last week after he was pinned to the pavement by a white police officer who put his knee on the handcuffed black man’s neck until he stopped breathing.
Demonstrators kneel in Los Angeles yesterday during a protest over the death of Mr Floyd
Protest demonstrate over police brutality against black people in Dallas, Texas, yesterday
His death set off protests that spread from Minneapolis across America. His brother Terrence has pleaded with protesters to remain peaceful.
More than 5,600 people are estimated to have been arrested in the US since the protests began, with violent scenes being witnessed across the country, particularly in New York state.
Sunday’s protest in London started at Trafalgar Square around lunchtime, where people chanted Mr Floyd’s name and knelt on the floor en masse, before heading to the US embassy in Battersea.
One demonstrator said the protests were ‘very important because it is sending a clear message that we have had enough racial injustice in our country’.
After Battersea, protesters – many wearing masks – crossed the river again, and headed through affluent Chelsea, Knightsbridge and Notting Hill, before gathering at the base of Grenfell Tower where 72 people died in a 2017 fire.