Sunderland residents take the knee during a peaceful Black Lives Matter vigil in Keel Square

The event, which was organised by Sunderland Unites, saw around 60 supporters of the movement take the knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds – the amount of time that a police officers knee was on George Floyd’s neck.

There was also a minutes silence for James Furlong, David Wails and Joe Ritchie-Bennett, who died in a knife attack in a Reading park on Saturday – which is being classed as an act of terrorism.

Many who attended had made signs, showing their support to the fast growing BLM movement.

Earlier this afternoon, Northumbria Police confirmed there was a Section 14 order in place for Keel Square – this prevented any counter protests from being allowed to take place.

It followed violent scenes in Newcastle earlier in the month when Black Lives Matter protesters clashed with counter-protesters at the Monument in the city.

Officers did remove some counter protesters from Keel Square before the vigil got underway and one woman was handcuffed and led away by offiers.

A small group of people who were there protesting against the vigil were kept back by police on High Street West.

Representatives from Sunderland’s Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community took turns to speak of their own experiences with racism during the 45-minute vigil.

One person in attendance was Nicolas Soucie from Wisconsin, in the USA – the country in which the movement started.

He has explained how powerful it was to see the people of Sunderland come together to support the BLM movement.

Nicolas said: “It was very powerful to see, I’m originally for the US so it is great to see it happening in the UK.

“It makes me feel solidarity with everyone back home who is out protesting. I feel like I’m standing right alongside my own citizens.”

Rachael Nyazuwa, a mum from Sunderland shared her experiences of racism in the city.

She said: “As a black person living in Sunderland, sometimes people make monkey chants as I walk along the street.

“It makes you worry about your safety. I have a little girl and I hope she can grow up in an area where everyone is treated equally.”

Amanda Ugunwole, 34, said she too had experienced racism in the city.

She said: “I’m here wanting to show support because I think Sunderland is underrepresented, in particular for black people. I have experienced racism and I’m hoping to educate people.”

An estimated 60 people attended the event, Matthew Robson was one of them. He said: “It was quite powerful to see the amount of people who are here tonight, I didn’t expect this big of a turnout.”

Sunderland Unites supporter Sophie Anderson added: “I thought it was really powerful to hear about people’s experiences with racism. It is important to listen to their stories and educate ourselves.”

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