Ferguson to Manchester / Tom Hornby
The shooting of Michael Brown, an un-armed black teen, in Ferguson on August 9th sparked many protests that have continued for months. These protests flared up again after the policeman responsible for his death was acquitted by a grand jury. The difference between the protests after the killing and those after the acquittal were that the latter grabbed the attention of a global audience, igniting protests and gestures of solidarity worldwide. I was inspired after seeing a protest was held in London outside the US embassy on November 28th, and wanted to do something myself. Living in Preston, I decided to search for an event closer to home. I found one that had been organised in Manchester for the 30th and decided to attend.
Starting in St Peters square and ending in Piccadilly Gardens, the protest lasted roughly 2 hours, the official starting time being 12:00. I arrived in St Peters Square about 5 minutes late. People were stood around discussing what was going on in Ferguson, to the background music of ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of The Bay’ by Otis Redding, and the Socialist Workers Party were trying to spread their beliefs through propaganda only partially related to the issue at hand. T-shirts with the names of black people killed by police were available to black protestors to visualise, in the words of the protest organiser Naomi Mabita, "how we (as black people) are more vulnerable to such behaviour" and "which of us would be at risk if this were to happen again". Some were well known names, such as Eric Garner; the man choked to death by a policeman, and Tamir Rice; the 12 year-old boy shot twice for playing with a toy gun by police who them failed to administer first aid until 4 minutes after the incident.
Protestors waiting for the beginning of the march.
Socialist selling newspapers and holding a sign-up sheet.
T-shirts with the names of black people killed by police.
Set up for the speeches were a microphone and speakers. These speeches included a reading of the Maya Angelou poem 'Still I Rise' and an American woman in her mid-fifties telling of her upbringing in a racially divided Washington DC, which she concluded by singing her own rendition of Strange Fruit by Billie Holiday. Shortly after this, the presence of members of the Socialist Workers Party, who later tried to co-opt the protest, was condemned by organisers.
The world is watching America, and we are tired of what we are seeing. The fact that we were able to come together in just two days with limited resources shows this. We organise ourselves as individuals from a range of backgrounds to express our solidarity from Manchester to Ferguson, and our discontent to the entire situation. Rest in power Mike Brown. No justice, no peace. – Naomi Mabita (Main Organiser)
We were told that the organisers were informed that we could not chant as apparently it isn't legal. I think that announcement was just a formality as the march was led and instantly erupted into chanting. Amongst the chants were those that had resonated around the world within Ferguson protests; "Hands up don't shoot!", in reference to Michael Brown putting up his hands in surrender, telling Darren Wilson he didn't have a gun and asking him not to shoot again. Others were "Black lives matter!" and "No justice, no peace!" which was met by some with repetition and by others with "Fuck the police!"
Protestors taking up the road.
The organiser, Naomi Mabita, making the 'Hands Up, Don't Shoot' gesture of the worldwide Ferguson protests.
The march led us past the Christmas markets, much to the bewilderment of shoppers, and back past St Peters Square where a tram momentarily split the group, but did not silence them. The march itself lasted roughly 20 minutes, ending in Piccadilly Square. The microphone and speakers had been relocated during the march to on a raised platform with a statue in the centre.
The speeches had a rough start with an older white woman slowly changing her topic to rights for people more widely, promoting the group RAPAR, and generally disregarding the real purpose for the event. One of the group leaders was quick to step up to the microphone after this to re-iterate that this was a protest of the injustice in Ferguson and not an opportunity to, although they are valid, promote other causes. This was a trend that continued, people advocating other groups and other causes, then people stepping up to remind them of the point of the protest. The atmosphere was quite tense for the last 15 minutes, with people having individual arguments in the crowd. Finally, someone stepped up to say that they think that the event should come to a close, ending with a minute of silence for Mike Brown. After this people started chatting between themselves, mainly condemning the people trying to co-opt such a meaningful protest for their own political gain. I took this time to have a short chat with the Naomi Mabita. She told me about how she believed it was something that deserved attention, and set up the group on Facebook in the hope that people would come. She had been assisted through the contact of Ayesha Mittal, who she had never met, and organised a protest in two days.
Holding up signs after the minute's silence.
She said that she saw the protest as a success, despite the minor setbacks. I agree, and I believe that the protest was effective and enlightening, although somewhat marred by the co-opt attempts.
