Published 02:49 IST, June 8th 2020
Churchill statue defaced with 'was a racist' graffiti during Black Lives Matter protests
The statue of Winston Churchill was vandalized again when demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter protest took over the park that housed the statue on Sunday.
The statue of one of Britain's most renowned leader Winston Churchill was vandalized again when demonstrators of the Black Lives Matter protest took over the park that housed the statue on Sunday. The same statue was defaced on June 6, which was the 76th anniversary of D-Day. D-Day marks that historical turning point of World War II when the allied forces, partially led by Winston Churchill, landed in Normandy.
'Not a good way to get one's point across'
Several reports have indicated that the demonstrators scrawled "was a racist" the base of the memorial in Parliament Square as thousands descended on London for another protest over George Floyd's death. They reportedly also jeered “Churchill was a racist” and “Boris (Johnson) is a racist”.
A Black Lives Matter sign was reportedly strapped to the belly of the statue.
The same statue was targeted by protesters on June 6 when the words ‘ACAB’ was spray-painted on the statue using neon green graffiti. ‘ACAB’ is an acronym referring to cops in a derogatory manner. The perpetrators behind the vandalism are yet to be identified.
Global movement against racism
The London protests against racial inequality and systemic racism were a small part of a larger global movement sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in police custody on May 25. In a video of the Floyd arrest that surfaced and is spreading across the internet, the primary accused, former officer Derek Chauvin can be seen planting his knee on George Floyd’s neck and keeping it there for 8 minutes and 46 seconds and thereby killing him.
Derek Chauvin has been arrested and charged. The three other officers who helped subdue Floyd along with Derek have also been fired and charged.
'Not a good way to get one's point across'
After vandalism of the Winston Churchill statue became public knowledge, TV personality Piers Morgan and some others took to social media to denounce the act and claimed that it was not a good way for the protesters to make a point. Other people have called out the police for not preventing the incident. British commentator Darren Grimes also took to Twitter and asked the police on how the Churchill statue could be de-faced without action being taken.
(Image/Input Credit: AP)
Updated 02:49 IST, June 8th 2020