Today is the final day of my challenge. I've completed all seven of my 5k runs, made my donations and here is my final post. Of course this one had to be for George Floyd, the man whose death has sparked the Black Lives Matter protests and, finally, got everyone talking about what we can … Continue reading #BLM day seven: George Floyd
Category: #blacklivesmatter
#BLM day six: Michael Menson
As John Fashanu said, the only way for a black man to make money in the 1980s was to sing, dance or play football. Michael Menson chose the musical route, and those of us of a certain age may remember his work as a member of Double Trouble, as in Double Trouble and the Rebel … Continue reading #BLM day six: Michael Menson
#BLM day five: Daniel Adewole
Daniel Adewole was sixteen years old when he died alone in his prison cell. He was an inmate at Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute. Daniel suffered from epilepsy, but had missed his last hospital appointment "because his family knew the date and place" and the prison were concerned this was a security risk. On the … Continue reading #BLM day five: Daniel Adewole
#BLM day four: Justin Fashanu
Justin Fashanu was the first openly gay professional footballer. The homophobia and persecution he received for this cost him his life. Justin and his brother, John, grew up in Norwich. His mother had placed them in Barnardo's orphanage. She was a single parent with three more children. The two boys were adopted by a white … Continue reading #BLM day four: Justin Fashanu
#BLM day three: Belly Mujinga
Forty-seven year old Belly Mujinga was a ticket controller at London Victoria Station. She was married with one eleven year old daughter. Back in March, Belly was understandably extremely concerned about going to work during the coronavirus outbreak. Not only did she have a respiratory condition which put her at higher risk of becoming seriously … Continue reading #BLM day three: Belly Mujinga
#BLM day two: Breonna Taylor
Breonna was an emergency medical technician and first responder, and had been working hard in a patient facing role at the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, despite the fact that as a black person she was at far higher risk from the disease than a white person. She lived with her boyfriend in Louisville, Kentucky. … Continue reading #BLM day two: Breonna Taylor
#BLM day one: Stephen Lawrence
For the next week, I will be running 5km every day in memory of a black person who died too soon, writing a story biography of that person on this blog, and making a donation to a relevant charity. My first run is in memory of Stephen Lawrence. I am writing about Stephen first because … Continue reading #BLM day one: Stephen Lawrence