Religious Moral
Philosophical Studies
#blacklivesmatter
George Floyd's death has sparked protests across the US, with demonstrators desperately calling for an end to police violence. Mr Floyd was an unarmed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. In footage of the arrest recorded by the public, Mr Floyd can be heard saying he could not breathe, before he is seen being lifted on to a stretcher and into an ambulance. He died in hospital. The police officer has been charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while three other officers involved in the incident were sacked and charged aiding and abetting 2nd degree murder
Mr Floyds death has sparked anger for more than yet another case of US police brutality against African Americans but has made the world stop and take a look at it's inherent racism and injustice with protests and marches taking place across the world.
black -Dave
#BLACKLIVES MATTERS.
After Georges death protests and marches started taking place across the world. During blackout Tuesday black boxes started appearing across social media and there were radio blackouts as people began to show their support and also empathy. One of the key things that has become apparent is the need for greater education and understanding into the roots and origins of this discrimination and racism. One of the key roots is the slave trade and this is far from an American problem but one that is very much part of our history we try to forgot in Scotland.
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Watch the mini documentary opposite and below to learn about how Glasgow still lives with it slaving legacy.
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Opposite is a music video by the British rapper Dave.
It has really powerful lyrics exploring for him what it means to be black.
Watch the music video and make sure to watch the images on the piano.
WRITTEN TASK
1) Think about what you have just seen. How did it make you feel?
2) Why do you think Dave wrote this song?
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3) Click the lyric box below and read the lyrics.
What do you think he means when he says
"Black is bein' guilty until proven that you're innocent."
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4) How does this apply to the George Floyd case?
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5) Dave continues "Our heritage been severed, you never got to experiment With family trees, 'cause they teach you 'bout famine and greed And show you pictures of our fam on their knees"
What do you think he isreferring to in this section?
TASK - EDUCATE YOURSELF
Many people in the black community want people to understand the history so we can make positive changes for the future​. Maybe you are sitting thinking, I'm not racist, I treat people well, then what can I do? A starting point is to look at Scotlands role, it could be yours or my ancestors who were involved with slavery in the past.
This week in Glasgow many of the street names were renamed to reflect this forgotten history of links to the slave trade.
You can see some of these below. Move the names around to find the black street signs. Each of these is a story of discrimination. Find out about one of these names and write a paragraph about what happened and why they should be remembered.
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