NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE.
ABOVE: BLM protest crowd, Bristol. Faces blurred out for the safety of those involved.
BLM Protest - Bristol
7.6.2020
During a time where it is often hard to see through all of the negativity and hatred, the Black Lives Matter movement has become powerful message for those across world, voicing the struggles and inequality that POC have had to endure for generations.
Although it is opening many people's eyes to how prevalent racism still is, and has shown how many people within society are still so blinded by ignorance, it is also giving people hope through the hate.
To show my solidarity with this movement, I stood by my friends, loved ones and the wonderful strangers of Bristol to protest inequality and police brutality experienced by POC throughout the world.
During this protest, I decided to document the pure love, energy and sense of community that has come from an issue so present and heartbreaking.
A brief video I captured after the protest's powerful kneel in remembrance of George Floyd and all of the countless other black men, women and children that have died in the hands of the law.
Something that will never be forgotten from the Bristol protest in particular is the moment that the statue, wrongfully honouring slave trader Edward Colston, was ripped from it's plinth.
Spray painted red and rolled towards the harbour by protestors, where it was pushed in to symbolise how we will no longer stand for the celebration of slavery in our city.
Edward Colston has always been associated with Bristol. However, it has often been ignored that his entire wealth and reputation was gained through human suffering, and it is estimated that he transported around 80,000 African men, women and children for the slave trade, with many of those dying on route to Britain.
Although I was not present for the beautiful moment in which Colston's reputation was finally, and literally, pulled to the ground, I was able to capture the images above just before, showing how people had covered his face and the text honouring such a disgraceful figure.
Bristol will no longer stand to be associated with upper class white male politicians who fuelled the slave trade.
The hundreds of messages written across parcel packaging, pizza boxes, envelopes and more truly proved how tired Bristol is of systematic racism, much like the rest of the world.
Each sign beamed with unity and solidarity, expressing the anger and sadness that has come from the oppression and anguish that people have had enough of.
On this day, I documented a variety of signs and messages that I believe show the power of expression and the passion behind these protests.
Despite fighting for something that should never have been an issue, this day was filled with nothing but positivity and hope for those who have dealt with nothing but judgement and torment. On this day, I documented the sense of love, expression and community in Bristol.
Racism is still very much alive and bitter, but the BLM movement is making the future seem a little brighter with every second that passes.
I know that on this day, Bristol made history, and it may even become a distant memory that I tell to my children and grandchildren when it is a problem of the past. For now, it is something that needs to be continually and passionately fought, educated, filmed and photographed.
And so far, I am glad to be on the right side of it.
No Justice, No Peace.
by Libby Smith
