Some 3,000 people, according to data from the Government Delegation, have gathered this Sunday in front of the United States Embassy in Madrid against racism for the death of George Floyd, a black citizen who died as a victim of police abuse on May 25 in Minneapolis.
Convened by the African Black Community of African Descent in Spain (CNAAE), protesters have shown banners with names of black people killed by the police in recent years: from Martin Luther King to George Floyd.
To the cry of ‘No justice, no peace’ (‘without justice, there is no peace’) and ‘Black lives matter’, the protest, which has been conducted in a totally peaceful way, has followed the steps of the massive concentrations in the United States in memory of Floyd. “George Floyd, say his name,” urged the attendees, along with slogans against racism and against the Spanish Immigration Law.
“We are here denouncing the death of our brother, but also denouncing the racism that we are living here in Spain; we are from here, we live here, we sleep here, we pay taxes, then we are from here, we are to denounce racism, we do not want To be superior to anyone, we only want to fight for our rights and for the equality of the whole world, “CNAAE spokesman Thimbo Samb said in statements to Europa Press.
According to Samb, although Floyd’s death took place in the United States, racism is present “in Spain and in all parts of the world”. In the opinion of the spokesperson for this convening organization, the solution to this scourge is through education: “We must teach in schools that we are all equal, and at home too, because no one is born a racist but rather racism is learned.”
“We are tired of police violence, in the United States but also in Spain; we are all the same, regardless of race, color, we are all human and have the same rights,” says Emma, one of those attending the demonstration, who He admits to having been the victim of a racist episode.
The rally was also attended by Mamadou, from Guinea, to say out loud that “no race is less than the other.” “We are all human beings, and we all have to have the same rights,” he adds.
Meanwhile, Mickael, a Senegalese living in Spain since he was a child, assures that what it takes to end racism is the awareness and education of society. “It is ridiculous that in 2020 we have to protest for human rights, that there are murders among humans is totally absurd,” he says.
The event was also attended by Enrique Santiago, a deputy for United We Can in Congress, who has justified his attendance in that he wants to show his “solidarity” with the American people and especially with African-Americans for this new wave of racism.
But he has also attended to “protest against the Trump administration’s policy of dividing American society,” more in a context in which the pandemic is being experienced more intensely by the “lack of action by the authorities.” “We must end institutional racism and defend the lives of all citizens regardless of their skin color,” he settled.
