15,000+ people at Brighton’s Black Lives Matter protest

The Brighton Black Lives Protests today  ( Sat 13th June) attracted many more people than expected with some estimates saying more than 15,000 people had taken part.

Organisers had asked everyone to wear black to show support, and people to wear face masks and follow the marshals directions. With many families, older people and allies taking part there was a friendly atmosphere.   From 1pm today the entire length of the seafront from Brighton Marina to the Palace pier was lined with socially distanced protesters in lines, all silent, wearing masks and clapping to show solidarity with the Black Lives Moment.

The well-behaved huge crowd of protesters then moved along to the Palace Pier where a huge crowd of people made their way along the seafront, up West Street and through the city centre ending at  the Level. Many people holding handmade banners with statements of solidity written on them.

Brighton & Hove’s demonstrations were in tandem with others taking place across the world Jonathan Michael Bailey attended the BLM protests and has sent us this report filmed shortly after leaving the protest.

Today’s events are the largest  so far in the city so far which have been taking place following the death of George Floyd late last month.

Sussex police confirmed there were no arrests at all during the protests and the crowds were all in good spirits and looking out for each other. They reported attending some disturbances in the Old Steine where a small group of about 30 men, standing on the War Memorial lawns, drinking and claiming to be a ‘counter protest to protect the monument’ appeared to attempt to provoke protesters as they passed by. One women challenged them, accusing them of disrespect  for visibility drinking on the Memorial they were claiming to protect.   After some heated shouting there was an intervention by a march steward with a megaphone asking people to ignore them.

Brighton and Hove City council made a statement with city councillor Carmen Appich acknowledging the authority’s position as a “predominantly white council” but said it must “recognise what we don’t know, what we don’t experience and see”.

BHCC  has promised a series of actions including the development of an anti-racism strategy to tackle discrimination in Brighton and Hove. You can read her full statement here:

You can see a gallery of pictures below from Gscene readers who attended the protests along the seafront today. You can learn more about the Black Lives Matter protests and how to become an effective LGBTQ ally here.