Opinion: The Black Lives Matter movement unites the world

The death of George Floyd has sparked outrage against institutional racism and police brutality. It has also led to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement — a movement that emphasizes the importance of Black lives. These themes can often be seen written on cardboard signs at protests.

According to CNN, protests in the United States continued for the 11th consecutive night, as of June 8. Many cities have also implemented curfews, with some as early as 4 p.m. A majority of the protests were peaceful, with people sitting down and holding up signs or protestors chanting alongside one another, according to CNN.

However, the support of the Black Lives Matter movement does not only come from the United States. Rather, advocates of the Black Lives Matter movement come from all around the world.

In Australia, the Canberra rally on June 5 attracted around 2,000 demonstrators, according to TIME. Not only were demonstrators marching against racial inequality marked by Floyd’s death, but they were also marching for the racial inequality and high rates of indigenous incarceration of the indigenous people. Matilda House, an elder of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal family, the traditional owners of the Canberra region, spoke out about systemic racism and in Australia, according to TIME.

“Australians have to understand that what’s been going on [in] the United States has been happening here for a long time,” House said.

Despite the schedules protests, according to the Canberra Times, the Supreme Court Justice Des Fagan did not approve of the rallies because of the dangers of protesting during a mass pandemic. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, also emphasized the dangers and urged Australian citizens to stay home and not attend the protests.

Similar to Australian protestors, demonstrators in the United Kingdom showed their support through a variety of protests. On June 5, thousands of individuals gathered in Hyde Park, London to peacefully protest, according to BBC. Many held up signs along the lines of, “Black Lives Matter” and “White Silence = Violence.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also made a statement on Wednesday, June 3 regarding the death of George Floyd and the protests in the United Kingdom.

“It’s an opinion I’m sure is shared by the overwhelming majority of people around the world; racism, racist violence has no place in our society. All I would say is I do think people have a right to protest to make their feelings known about injustices such as was what happened to George Floyd. I would urge people to protest peacefully and in accordance with the rules on social distancing,” he said in his statement.

Citizens of Austria have also raised their voices in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. On June 4, at least 10,000 demonstrators gathered in Vienna. Among the demonstrators were many students.

Katharina Kohl, 21, was one of the demonstrators in Vienna, Austria, who held a sign that read, “Hate is not an opinion,” according to Channel News Asia.

“Systematic racism is everywhere in the world, also in Austria. We have to stop it,” Kohl said.