Black Lives Matter, Derry

A Change Is Gonna Come, performed by Prince Tasha at the Black Lives Matter protest at the Guildhall Square in Derry / Londonderry where crowds stood together to oppose racism, demand justice for George Floyd, call for the end of institutional racism, police brutality and historic complacency over the loss of black lives.

Police also attended the protest and issued a significant number of Community Resolution Notices (CRNS) and fines for breaking Health Protection regulations due to Coronavirus. Individuals, including organisers, have been reported to the Public Prosecution Service with a view to prosecution. Police have also said they will also conduct follow up enquiries to seek to identify others who may have committed offences.

The police relied on Regulation 6A, which is designed to restrict outdoor social gatherings to up to six persons. Notably, this came into force on May 19th 2020, but there were no enforcement powers attached to it. That changed as an amendment was put in place by the NI Assembly a day before the protest. People were not discouraged by the strong police presence and protested anyway. Many people claimed that the police were full of hypocrisy and they specifically targeted them because other protests that have happened were never met with such a strong police presence.

The organisers of the protest raised money on GoFundMe to help pay for all fines that were issued.