‘ONE SOLUTION – Revolution’ rang out through the 40,000-strong crowd outside the US embassy in Vauxhall, south-west London yesterday as a mass demonstration broke out in anger at the US police killing of George Floyd.
Kieran Alexander told News Line: ‘Capitalism is a broken system. It is a disease and it is killing people. Revolution is well overdue, it is the most effective course of action to take.’
His friend George Milner said: ‘Capitalism is so outdated, it is trying to find an excuse to mask over the fact that they want to be oppressive to black people.
‘They are oppressive to all working class people and there is a prevalence to be particularly oppressive to black people. We need a complete revolution of the system. Get rid of capitalism.’
Greek student Ioanna Pikioni told News Line: ‘I’ve lived in the UK for seven years. It was a big difference for me to see universities in the UK.
‘Where I’m from in Greece I was studying with just Greek people, so when I studied here I met people of all races and religions. I found in my local area that people from different parts of the world are treated differently.’
Fellow student Abna Ibrahim, studying health and social care, said: ‘It was obvious with the Grenfell fire that the government and the council didn’t care enough. I don’t feel that with this justice system there would even be a fair trial.
‘Those responsible should go to prison. But under this system are they really going to go? There is no justice under capitalism.’
Young Socialists member Mariatu Conteh said: ‘The murder of George Floyd was brutal. When I saw it I was disgusted because the police should not kill.
‘It was like when I saw the Grenfell Tower fire. That was horrible to see. They killed people in that tower because they knew it wasn’t safe. It was the same with the coronavirus. They don’t know how to handle the coronavirus.
‘Now over 50,000 people are dead. The system of capitalism doesn’t care about people. Capitalism must go.’
Leah Borland, a care worker who had travelled with her friend from Birmingham to join the march, said: ‘In my work I notice who pays privately and who is paid for by the council.
‘There is a discrimination between rich and poor, between who gets seen by nurses, who gets resources and who gets given care regularly.
‘I feel strongly about equality between race and class.’
Her friend Katie Berry added: ‘It’s so important to make a stand on something like this. This is why we travelled over 100 miles to join this demonstration.’
Rachel Oluwatuminu said: ‘We work for a system that doesn’t work for us. We have to stop thinking that we cannot make a difference because we are young. When we all come together like this we can make a change.’