A while ago I was unable to get to the Black Lives Matter protest in London so I decided to photograph the one in Luton instead. A few weeks later I returned to Luton to discuss the protest with three of the young people who were there and this is what they told me.

Their names were (from left to right) Levi, Nishrat and Reeon and the mural behind seemed very apt. I met and photographed them outside the Hat Factory Arts Centre in Luton and it was an inspiring and enlightening discussion.

Nishrat was the organiser of the Black Lives Matter protest in Luton and you can find her interview with ITV News here along with some of my photos of the event. She said
https://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2020-06-17/luton-father-and-daughter-discuss-need-for-all-ethnicities-to-help-black-lives-matter

“The Black Lives Matter protest means more than just a gathering. It is about voicing, educating and being together as one. That is why I decided to hold a BLM protest because this is not about me, it is about others and others coming together for one cause. I want to be there..”

“...to support and show my support and spread awareness because if minorities don’t come out to support each other, how is everybody else supposed to? I am a Bangladeshi Muslim woman and I know discrimination, racial, ethnic, religious and gender prejudice as I have lived it...”

“... We must educate, listen and stand by.”
Nishrat

Levi was a passionate & articulate young man and it was a real privilege to have him share his thoughts with me and trust me to take his photo. He had this to say on Black Lives Matter “Being a black male myself means that I have experienced racism and discrimination. However...”

“... I am extremely proud of where I come from due to educating myself on the positive parts of black history, which is what we should as a community pass on to the next generation through education. A huge part of a person’s life is their time in school where the foundation of..

“... their education is taught. Therefore, this is a great time to educate the youth of all backgrounds on the negative impact racism has had in the past, how we can learn from these experiences and reap the benefits of unity in the future.
In order to bring longevity to the...”

“...black lives matter movement there needs to be a continuation of acknowledgement from corporate enterprises. For example, the premier league footballers have a BLM logo on their shirts. This will reach out to millions of people therefore, having an influence, now and in the..”

“...future when people look back at these games.
The death of George Floyd (God rest his soul) is one of the tragic examples as to why we need to eradicate racism from society. Even though this is a devastating incident, it is amazing to see the unity of people from many...”

“... backgrounds and the movements that have come from this including; protests, demonstrations and the overall spread of the cause.
Its racists vs everyone.”
Levi

Reeon is a musician & a great character. It was a real pleasure to meet and photograph him and listen to his story. To understand prejudice we have to listen to those who have lived experience of it. This is what he had to say to me
“I have suffered from many racist incidents..”

“...some violent, some verbal and some unconscious. I feel the best way to eradicate or at least minimise the amount of racism is by educating the younger generations from an early age. This will then have an effect on institutionalised racism and other forms of racism that...”

“...exist. In addition to this, if big organisations and business get behind and support the black lives matter movement you will see growth within our community.”
Reeon

What was very clear to me when meeting and photographing these young people is that change can only come about if all communities come together as one, support each other, and say that systemic racism is not acceptable. Silence is not an option. The status quo is not an option.

I believe strongly that if we have a platform we should use it to amplify the voices of those who don’t and that we shouldn’t put words into people’s mouths or portray them in a way they are uncomfortable with. Levi, Nishrat and Reeon all had the courage to speak out. Do we?