"I'm tired of this": Caller's powerful reason why he's going to Black Lives Matter protest
3 June 2020, 15:19
"I'm tired of all this": Caller's powerful reason why he's attending Black Lives Matter protests
This caller summered up the racism he faces on a daily basis and told Shelagh Fogarty he's going to the Black Lives Protest because he's so tired of it.
Michael called in from Kennington as he made his way to the protest at Hyde Park, taking place in solidarity with demonstrators in the US following the death of George Floyd.
The 46-year-old died last week in Minneapolis after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes.
Michael told Shelagh why he was going to the protest.
He said: "We're really tired. Try to understand us.
"I've been racially abused several times. A few months ago on the streets of London, I was called the n-word.
"The sheer fact that I couldn't do anything literally broke me down. It took a young black man to more-or-less restrain me, who told me 'calm down, you're better than that'.
"Then more importantly, there's the subtle racism in workplaces. That's where a lot of black people - and minorities in general - find it difficult to express without coming across as playing the race card again.
"If I happen to be the only black person in my workplace, I cannot express myself because I will be tagged with 'he's got a chip on his shoulder'.
"It's happened to me. I speak to my colleagues and they don't understand it. It's so frustrating that all you can do is come home and vent."
Hear Michael's call at the top of the page.
