BLACK LIVES MATTER.

A message from your SU President Moyin Ekundayo:

What can I say? I am tired. It took me some time to find the right words because of the pain and the anger it took to compose myself in reaction to not only the video of George Floyd's brutal murder, but to the daily injustices. I will not stand by empty statements and I will not make empty statements.

What does it mean to stand in solidarity?  If you stand and do not fight injustices and racism fiercely, you are part of the problem. We cannot let this moment become a trend. We can not be passive in a system that is systemically unjust.

Personally, I stand with both the peaceful and aggressive forms of protest. The anger is justified. 'A riot is the language of the unheard,' Martin Luther King Jr. explained 53 years ago.

There needs to be change both in the UK and abroad, the education system, the police and much more. The UK is not free of racism as most would like to believe. Just last week I was subject to abusive words by people in a car speeding away. Call out racists. Do not condone their behaviour, do not be passive. You are with us or you are against us.

Black people all over the world are crying out for justice. Black Lives Matters is about fairness and tackling a problem. If you do not agree with me, kindly unfriend and unfollow me.

I am guided by the fact that all black lives matter, regardless of actual and perceived sexual indentity, gender indentity, gender expression, economic status, ability, disability, religious beliefs and disbeliefs, immigration status, or location. I have a lot more to say but there is so much pain in my heart, there has been so much suffering due to an outdated philosophy that breeds hate out of fear.

Educate yourself on black struggles, immerse yourself in trying your best to understand the daily experiences of a black person. If you do not understand use critical thinking - ask yourself 'would I like to be treated the same way black people are treated in this country?' If not, you understand there are injustices and if you would not want to experience it, why should you be passive and let it happen?

BLACK LIVES MATTER.