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Friday, 29 March 2024

'Your skin is a weapon'

Duration: 03:11s 0 shares 2 views

'Your skin is a weapon'
'Your skin is a weapon'

From Los Angeles to London, Madrid and Paris, protesters have told Reuters why they have joined a global wave of demonstrations demanding an end to generational racism and police brutality against black and ethnic minorities.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) 30-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND ACTOR, STEDROY CABEY, SAYING: "As a black man it feels like your skin is a weapon.

It feels like for some reason they feel like you're a threat.” (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. CITIZEN LIVING IN FRANCE AND ECONOMIST (AND ALSO SON OF A FAMOUS BLACK PANTHER LEADER STOKELY CARMICHAEL), BOKAR TURE, HOLDING HIS DAUGHTER AND TELLING HER: “We're just as smart, just as intelligent, and you're just as beautiful as anyone.” (SOUNDBITE) (English) K.C.

COLEMAN, A 55-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND FORMER POLICE OFFICER, FROM INGLEWOOD, SAYING: “Every day when you wake up, you are in fear of your life (...) I'm a bi-racial woman.

I have faced racism in my life, as an ex police officer I faced racism, and now it's time for a change (...) I was a police officer for 15 years.

I fought the Watts riots in 1992.

I was on the scrimmage line on the opposite side, and now here I am on this side protesting what's right.

And I saw a lot of injustice back then and I'd never saw the change, and now, finally, because the world sees, that change is coming." (SOUNDBITE) (English) US NATIONAL LIVING IN MADRID, FRANK BRADFORD, SAYING: "I grew up in America's south, Mississippi, it has one of the darkest histories of racism and I felt it on my day to day basis, growing up in school, the university, at work and I think it is a major problem that with have to deal with (...) I have seen it like around day to day like in grocery store or supermarket, on the street.

It is something challenging, also I'm a teacher so I see it at school a little bit and I try to correct students and try to teach them a better way to recognise racism and fight against it.” (SOUNDBITE) (English) 30-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND ACTOR, STEDROY CABEY, SAYING: "I myself definitely experienced racism as a black man.

When I first moved to the UK there was an incident when someone, I didn't know him, me and my cousin were on the bus and he started looking at us in a weird way, when he got off the bus and he ran up to us and went 'go back to where you came from, you don't belong here'." (SOUNDBITE) (English) K.C.

COLEMAN, A 55-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND FORMER POLICEWOMAN, FROM INGLEWOOD, SAYING: "I am very optimistic about the protests and leading to change because at first it was just the black and the minorities that were out here but now you have a nation that's all coming together as one." (SOUNDBITE) (English) US NATIONAL LIVING IN MADRID, FRANK BRADFORD, SAYING: "It is good that protests are happening, I hope that they remain peaceful.

I hate when critics only focus on the riots or the looting.

I want them to know that there are peaceful protests all over the US and also all over the world." (SOUNDBITE) (English) 30-YEAR-OLD PROTESTER AND ACTOR, STEDROY CABEY, SAYING: "The fact that we're standing together globally says it all, like it's significant.

And it's sad that he died but his death has affected change and is changing the world, so it really resonated with me and I had to come out for his name and every other name that died in injustice, to protest and to let our voice be heard."

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