Black Lives Matter protests have been going on all over the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police. While most of the protests are happening in the United States, there are still quite a few going down in countries abroad. England has been having its own protests and today they got pretty interesting.
In Bristol, there was a statue of a man named Edward Colston who benefitted greatly from the slave trade. Regardless of his heinous acts, he had his very own monument and today, protesters brought it down. As you can see in the clips below, protesters knelt on its neck for nine minutes to symbolize what happened to Floyd. From there, they rolled the statue down a street and eventually found a body of water. That's when protesters chucked the statue into the water, never to be seen again.
This was a pretty monumental moment in Bristol history, no pun intended. These statues have no business still existing especially when the men represented caused so much pain to an entire race of people. While some are mad at the protesters for defacing the statue, others are commending the demonstrators for doing what needed to be done.
Over the next few weeks, we expect protests to continue to ramp up and hopefully, real change ensues.
U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson Tests Positive For Coronavirus
The U.K. Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has tested positive for coronavirus, as has Britain's Health Secretary, Matt Hancock.
The Prime Minister of the U.K., Boris Johnson, has tested positive for coronavirus, along with the country's Health Secretary, Matt Hancock. More and more public figures have been coming forward recently to announce that they've contracted coronavirus, and it looks like the leader of the United Kingdom is among them. Johnson addressed his diagnosis in a tweet on Friday, revealing that he has mild symptoms and is currently self-isolating.
"Over the last 24 hours I have developed mild symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus," the PM wrote. "I am now self-isolating, but I will continue to lead the government’s response video-conference as we fight this virus. Together we will beat this. #StayHomeSaveLives." In the video attached, he described his symptoms as "a temperature and a persistent cough," and assured everyone that he will still be able to fulfill his duties as prime minister from home. “Be in no doubt that I can continue–thanks to the wizardry of modern technology–to communicate with all my top team to lead the national fightback against coronavirus," he said. He then makes sure to thank the National Health Service (NHS) for all their hard work, along with the police, social care workers, teachers, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) staff. He also shows his appreciation for "every member of the British public who's volunteering" and "everybody who is working to keep our country going through this epidemic."
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"The way we're going to get through this is, of course, by applying the measures that you'll have heard so much about," he continues. "The more effectively we all comply with those measures, the faster our country will come through this epidemic and the faster we'll bounce back. Thank you to everybody who is doing what I am doing–working from home. Stop the spread of the virus from household to household. That’s the way we are going to win. We are going to beat it, and we are going to beat it together. Stay at home. Protect the NHS and save lives.” Johnson's diagnosis comes just one day after another prominent British figure, Prince Charles, was revealed to have tested positive as well. Fellow world leader, Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, had also gone into self-isolation earlier this month, after his wife, Sophie Grégoire, tested positive for coronavirus.
UK Rapper Bugzy Malone "Seriously Injured" In Motorcycle Accident
UK grime star, Bugzy Malone, was involved in a motorcycle accident in Manchester on Wednesday, from which he suffered serious injuries.
Bugzy Malone, a grime rapper from the UK, has suffered some serious injuries from a motorcycle accident that took place on Wednesday night in Manchester. The Greater Manchester Police Department confirmed that they responded to a call about a collision between a quad bike and another vehicle at roughly 9:20pm on Wednesday.
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"Shortly before 9:20pm last night, Wednesday, March 25, 2020, police were called to Rochdale Road, Bury, to reports of a collision involving an Audi car and a quadbike," a spokeswoman for Greater Manchester Police said. "Emergency services attended and the driver of the quadbike, a 29-year-old man, was seriously injured and taken to hospital for treatment. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. No arrests have been made and enquiries are ongoing." Footage of the incident has been circulating online, with many criticizing whoever felt the need to film the crash site.
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Bugzy is a rapper and actor from Manchester, who has been credited one of the key artists that played a crucial role in the "grime revival" in the UK. Many of his fellow British artists, as well as The Manchester City football club, took to Twitter to show their support for the injured star and send him their well wishes.
Prince Harry Breaks Silence Following Royal Split Announcement
Prince Harry is confident in his decision.
While speaking at a dinner in Central London, hosted by his Sentebale charity, Prince Harry addressed his split from the royal family, marking the first time that he's spoken publicly about the subject he and his wife Meghan Markle announced their decision to do so.
"It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges," revealed the Duke of Sussex. "And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option. What I want to make clear is we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you.”
View this post on Instagramat tonight’s dinner for supporters of Sentebale in London Video © SussexRoyal
He went on to confirm that the resolution he and the Duchess sought was to continue to serve the Queen "without public funding." However, the compromise was not met.
“Our hope was to continue serving the Queen, the commonwealth, and my military associations, but without public funding. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible,” he said. “I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am.”
Harry's words arrived just one day after Buckingham Palace officially announced that Harry and Meghan would be losing their royal titles of "His Royal Highness" and "Her Royal Highness."
"I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family, for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months," Harry added. “I will continue to be the same man who holds his country dear and dedicates his life to supporting the causes, charities and military communities that are so important to me.”
Daniel Kaluuya Says He Lost Roles In England Due To Racism
He made it big in America.
Daniel Kaluuya has an impressive track record here in America. He starred in Black Panther, Get Out, Widows, and had roles in Kick-Ass 2 and Sicario. Apparently though, Kaluuya didn’t have such great luck acorss the pond, where he is from. Speaking with The Sunday Times, Kaluuya commented on how he felt that his dark skin played a role in stopping studios from hiring him.
“I was going for a lot of stuff [in England],” he admitted in the interview. “But I wasn’t getting roles because of the color of my skin. It wasn’t fair. It was a trap.” He continued on to name a specific scenario. “For example, I went up for this show. It was 10 rounds of auditions. There was me and a white guy for the lead. It was about aliens. And I realized as I was going to one audition that the other guy had been given an acting coach. They didn’t love me like they loved him.”
“In any other profession, that would be weird, but it was accepted in mine,” continued Kaluuya. “It happened a few times, and I went, ‘Nah. I’m not an idiot.’” Speaking with Entertainment Weekly two years ago, Kaluuya got candid about racism while discussing Get Out‘s big party scene. “That party scene was just like, ‘Oh, I’ve been in that party. I’m going to that party,’” Kaluuya said. “Like, that kind of racism that isn’t seen as racism, that isn’t seen as, kind of like, mainstream racism. It’s just life. And to explore that is quite an uncomfortable conversation. And [director] Jordan [Peele] just spoke his truth. He cinematically articulated an experience that millions of people go through and they are made to feel crazy for going through that. But he just said, ‘No, actually, you’re not crazy.’”