Demonstrators come together for third week of Black Lives Matter protests in North East

People came together at Times Square in Newcastle, close to the Centre for Life, for a peaceful demonstration as part of ongoing protests worldwide.

The location of the event was moved after clashes last week at Grey’s Monument, when police formed lines across Newcastle’s Grey Street to maintain a divide between anti-racist campaigners and rival groups and people congregated at the monument alongside a Union Jack flag.

Demonstrations were held nationwide on Saturday, June 20, including at London’s Speakers’ Corner, where calls were made for the removal of Munira Mirza as head of the new race inequality commission, and in Glasgow.

Protests have been taking place worldwide for the last three weeks after the death of black American George Floyd.

In Sunderland, a group gathered at the war memorial on Burdon Road last week to protect it from vandalism, despite no Black Lives Matter protests being staged in the city.

Protests linked to the Black Lives Matter movement have prompted calls for installations commemorating some historical figures to be removed.

A statue of Sir Henry Havelock in Sunderland, vandalised this week, has been added to a list of monuments which campaigners claim ‘celebrate slavery and racism’.

The memorial to the soldier, best known for commanding British Empire troops in India during the 19th Century, has been included on the ‘Topple the Racists’ website set up following Black Lives Matter protests.

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