As an Ally, I think it is important that I use my position as a privileged white person that has not experienced any sort of racial prejudice in my life.
Black Lives Matter is an important movement, and especially where I am from, you see a lot of people saying the phrase “all lives Matter” because the valleys are predominantly white areas where people are not educated on racial prejudice and racism who think that Black Lives Matter is an attack on them but that is not what it is.
I helped to organise and facilitate the Black Lives Matter protest here with my co-organiser Chloe Cooper, after the death of George Floyd. We protested by placing placards outside a shop in Aberdare, it made it to the social media and news outlets, the feedback was shocking as there were people claiming that racism does not exist in Wales which was ridiculous to me because it shows the level of ignorance. I then decided that something needs to be done about it, people need to hear about the Black people dying here in Wales, especially people like Christoper Kapessa who died in Mountain Ash.
The protest in Merthyr is the first protest I have organised but I have been to different protests before, even though BLM was the biggest I have ever attended.
Merthyr Rising is a music festival which is famous for hosting lots of protests over the years like the Welsh Independence protest by Yes Cymru. It felt only appropriate that we held it in a space that is recognised for going against the grain and standing up for what is right.
The square was full on the day of the protest which was nothing like we had expected. We had people from Cardiff, Aberdare, Merthyr, Rhondda, to show their solidarity with the movement and it was incredible especially seeing the impact on the Valleys where people are not educated about racism.
An anti-racist Wales will be a country where Black people can walk down the street without fear of being shouted at, stared at because of the colour of their skin, where they can feel safe in the hands of the police. Black people die from police brutality all the time in Wales and I want people to understand that; because people seem to think that the police will protect you, but that is not the case.
The police are racist and people die all the time. Antiracist Wales is where Black people have the same opportunities as white people, where they can get jobs, explore themselves and where they can just exist without any sort of problems but unfortunately, that is not the case at the moment. Hopefully, future generations will learn about this movement to understand what it was like for Black people in Wales.
It is ridiculous to think that Black Lives Matter is an American movement because it is impossible for one country to be racist while the rest are exempted. Black people live everywhere in the world, police brutality exists everywhere and so does racism. We need to fight until Black people can live in a world where they are treated fairly and live freely without walking down the streets in fear.
Racism exists in Wales, it is on your doorstep, it is everywhere. So, to the people who think that Black Lives Matter is just an American thing need to do their research.
