Hundreds of people have gathered in Ipswich to take part in a Black Lives Matter protest following the death of unarmed George Floyd in America.
The gathering, which took place at Christchurch Park, saw people from across Suffolk come together to show their support for the movement.
A number of speakers addressed the crowd on race equality and were met by cheers and applause throughout the day.
One protester Deborah Afflu, who had attended with her family, said: “I feel like in Britain we are quite good at avoiding uncomfortable conversations.
“This is the time for those conversations to be had.
“This is not just a thing that happens in America, it happens in Britain as well. Children need to be educated in the world that we live in and institutional racist needs to come to an end.
“It’s not fair that people do not have fair chances because of the colour of their skin.
“I feel like this is the time for everyone to take the opportunity to educate themselves on one, the past, but also what they can do to improve the society that we live in.”
The protest was organised after the global conversation on race equality was propelled to the headlines in May after the death of an unarmed black man in America.
George Floyd died in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Monday, May 25 after a police officer knelt on the back of his neck during an attempted arrest.
A disturbing video, which was published on social media, showed three white officers detaining Mr Floyd for eight minutes, while he called for help - saying: “I can’t breathe.”
Another protester, Clara Wilson, said: “I’m here to support the voices of others in solidarity.
“My mum’s American and I’ve spent a lot of time living in America but I think the issue is much broader than what’s going on over there.
“I think it’s bringing to light issues in the UK that we need to be challenging as well. “I hope stuff like this will change the curriculum to teach people about black history and spread awareness of these issues and address them in our own country.
“I think if nothing else it should bring a conversation to the table.
“The more people here the harder it is to ignore and I don’t think you can sweep it under the rug any more and say it is a minority problem.
“I think if enough people show their support I think the government are going to have to start listening.”
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