An online rally in support of #BlackLivesMatter movement and to protest against George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin has been set for Sunday, 7 June.
A poster with the full detail of the campaigns from the Supporters of Black Lives Matter in Bangkok Facebook page
The organizers, Supporters of Black Lives Matter in Bangkok, planned out two campaigns — speak your mind and live moment of silence.
Before 20:00 of 6 June, the public is encouraged to submit a video or a photo of them in black clothes holding up a protest sign with messages or artworks in support of the BLM movement, raising a fist and stating the reasons why they support the BLM movement.
The videos and photos are to be uploaded to the link that will be provided and to social media with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatterBangkok.
On Sunday, 7 June at 14:15, the organizers are aiming to create over 200 Zoom meeting rooms for people to join the rally on Sunday (7 June) at 14. 15. They plan to hold a live moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds at 14.30, to represent the amount of time the police officer had his knee on Floyd’s throat, which resulted in his death. All participants are encouraged to wear black to look unified.
The screen of all Zoom meeting rooms will be recorded and compiled with videos and photos from the first campaign. The videos of the two campaigns will be shared with the United States embassy, Black rights organizations and hopefully to Floyd’s family, as the organizers said.
The rally was previously planned to be held in person at a location in Bangkok. As the imposed Emergency Decree bans large gatherings, the organizers said considering legality and the safety from COVID-19, they decided to hold the rally virtually. They said they initially anticipated 30 people but over 1,000 people have shown interest in joining the rally after the event was announced.
“We can ensure you our intentions are good and we are doing this from the heart. We felt strongly about standing together with others standing up around the world to protest against racial discrimniation and show support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the States, Thailand and everywhere (else no matter what it is called.),” the organizers wrote in the statement.
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