Thousands of Spaniards joined protesters who speak out against racism around the world on Sunday in the wake of a wave of protest in the United States over the death of a black man asphyxiated by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Thousands of people, according to estimates by the police on the spot, gathered at noon in the middle of the day in front of the American embassy in Madrid, denouncing the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American, repeating his last words, " I can not breathe ", and singing "No peace without justice" or "You racists are terrorists".
Faced with a large police cordon, they knelt for a minute of silence in protest against police violence against blacks, a gesture initiated by the American football player Colin Kaepernick in 2016 in a stadium while resounded the national anthem of the United States.
For Leinisa Seemdo, a 26-year-old Spanish translator from Cape Verde, it was her first manifestation. "Racism has no borders, she said. I have lived in China, Portugal, and now in Spain, and in all the countries where I have lived, I have experienced discrimination because of the color of my skin. "
Events planned in Copenhagen, Brussels or London
The organization Black Community, African and of African descent of Spain (CNAAE) had convened demonstrations in ten cities of the country, from Pampelone in the Basque Country to the Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa. In Barcelona, in the north of the country, hundreds of demonstrators filled the square Sant Jaume, where the regional government sits. Masked and keeping their distance, they held up signs in English to denounce racism in Spain and Europe.
Other demonstrations were planned for the day in Copenhagen, Brussels, Glasgow and London where, on Saturday, a peaceful demonstration of thousands of people ended in scuffles. The police charged on horseback to disperse protesters who threw bottles at them.
The outrage that took tens of thousands of Americans to the streets after the death of 46-year-old George Floyd, asphyxiated by a police officer who arrested him for a minor crime on May 25 in Minneapolis, has gradually gained the whole world.
On Saturday, protests took place from Australia to Tunisia via France and Britain, protesters also denouncing racism in their own country.
