– stages protest outside US Embassy here in solidarity with victim’s relatives, sympathisers

THE murder of George Floyd, an African-American man, has given rise to a series of protests across America, in an effort to send a strong message to the American authorities and government that BLACK LIVES DO MATTER.

Many persons around the world, including Guyanese, have taken to their social media platforms to stand in solidarity with those protesters, but Attorney-at-law Mayo Robertson has taken it one step further, and on Tuesday initiated a one-man demonstration outside of the US Embassy here on Duke Street, Kingston.

Robertson, whose vigil lasted one hour, and reportedly succeeded in drawing the attention of several passersby, said that staging the protest was his way of showing demonstrators in the USA and the family and friends of George Floyd that he supports them in their struggle.

“I want to be a voice in the call for change,” Robertson said, adding: “For too long, the lives of black people in the United States have not been given the appropriate value, and it’s important for us as Guyanese… Almost every Guyanese family has a relative in the US; I have a son, and ten of my siblings and several nephews living in the US, so this affects us all on a personal basis.”

Robertson said the reason he chose to stage his protest outside the US embassy here is because the mission is symbolic of the US’s presence in Guyana; that he wanted the US to be aware of his protest against the current treatment of African-Americans at this time. Robertson, who is s citizen of the US, said that had he been in there at this time, he would have been out with the other protesters, as he had done during the Nation of Islam-led ‘Million Man March’ on Washington DC back on October 16, 1995.

Quoting the late John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the USA, Robertson said, “Are we to say to the world that America is the Land of the Free, except for the Negroes?” As he went to say, what was done to Floyd has always been the trend in the United States; to treat African-Americans like dirt and generally take advantage of them, for no other reason than that they are black; painting them as a threat to society, and lesser beings, never acknowledging their potential.

SHOCKED TO THE CORE

“I believe the whole world was shocked to see what we have seen happening over the last week or so,” Robertson said. “To see the life of a man going out before our eyes is awful; even after making many pleas. And this is not an isolated incident; this is something that has happened time and time again, and with no change in the system. These protests are so there can be a change.”

Noting that African-Americans are disproportionately allowed access to healthcare, as is the case with what is happening with COVID-19, Robertson made the point that more African-Americans are adversely affected than any other race by the malady, and are dying like ninepins.

Said he: “We have George Floyd in 2020, begging the police, ‘Please, let me stand.’ He wanted to stand like a man, but the system was determined to have him die like an animal.”

Robertson said he believes that it is important for Guyanese to call their relatives overseas, and let them know that they support and sympathise with them; that they believe in justice and freedom as a worldwide phenomenon.

He said that the protests that are happening around the world, including his one-man stance here, are pivotal in pushing the system to be different, as the weight of worldwide pressure can bring about change. And he intends to aid in applying that pressure; to be a voice for change in the system.

Following Robertson’s protest action outside the US Embassy, US Ambassador Sarah-Ann Lynch issued a statement through the mission’s social media platform, stating: “I am, like the entire U.S. Embassy Georgetown family, profoundly troubled by the horrific events in the United States.  We mourn the tragic death of Mr. George Floyd, and support a full criminal investigation into the circumstances of his death.   We offer our prayers to family, loved ones and friends of Mr. Floyd.  Each of us must aspire every day to work together, respecting each other with actions that give us a more just and equitable world, free of racism.

The Embassy’s social media will remain dark today, in honor of “Blackout Tuesday.”