News

Ferguson Protests Spread To London

by Lauren Barbato

The Ferguson protests have gone global. Less than 48 hours after a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to bring charges against Darren Wilson, the white police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown, protesters in London marched in solidarity with Ferguson. Much like the protests that broke out Monday and Tuesday nights across the United States, demonstrators in London gathered outside the U.S. embassy holding signs that read, "Black Lives Matter," and chanting Michael Brown's name. Some held candles, while others sported megaphones as they led the demonstration through the streets.

According to the Agence France-Presse, around five thousand people rallied outside the embassy on Wednesday night, where family members of British-African men who were killed by police addressed the crowd. Carol Duggan, whose nephew Mark was shot dead by U.K. police officers in 2011, told the crowd:

We need to send a message to Mike Brown's family. We feel the pain, we know the pain, of losing somebody at the hands of the police. That is why we stand in solidarity with the community of Ferguson. I feel they are very strong and brave people.

A later rally was held at the U.S. embassy by the group London Black Revs, who said in a statement on the event's Facebook page:

We extend our full support to those resisting police brutality in Ferguson and their right to defend themselves, and urge that Black people on both sides of the Atlantic unify around and mobilise against the institutional violence that plagues our communities in the UK and the USA.

Here are photos and video from the London protests, where demonstrators are marching in the shadows of iconic landmarks such as Big Ben...

Image: Getty Images