HUNDREDS gathered in Stirling last weekend to support the growing Black Lives Matter movement all over the globe.

Many from all over Forth Valley came together at King's Park for a sit-in protest, with special measures in place to ensure social distancing guidelines were honoured.

Chants of 'no justice, no peace' were heard throughout as many spoke in support of their experiences of facing racism in this country.

The event was sparked followed similar protests in Europe and the United States, following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

While demonstrations in other parts of the UK have been overshadowed by sporadic acts of aggression, the event in Stirling passed "without incident" according to police.

One of the organisers of the event, Zoe Moore, began the event by telling the crowd: "This is not the end – we cannot let this be a performative protest – this is the beginning.

"This is the people of Stirling coming together to say: 'This is our problem, too'. And we begin the work today. This is the beginning."

One speaker, a student from Stirling, said the message of the protest must be taken far beyond the grounds of the park and into daily life – no matter how uncomfortable that may be.

"Even if it's difficult, even if people get bored with you, even if people don't want you invite you to the table to talk anymore," she continued.

"Ask yourself, if those people are bored of you talking about this, is that a table you really want to sit at?

"It hurts," she added. "It hurts every day; to look at the news and to see it happening. But maybe this is the start of something; maybe this is the cure to this pandemic that is killing just as much of us.

"Don't stop, keep up the momentum. This isn't a fashion trend. Don't throw away black lives and don't treat black lives like we treat black culture – we are not disposable."

Another speaker said: "It's not that what we didn't know what was going on before, because racism is something that we have all had to deal with from a young age, but it's now that feel people are finally starting to see and finally starting to hear us.

"Out here people say: 'Oh, racism doesn't happen anymore – that was the past'. But white people need to understand that just because you don't say the N-word does not mean you're not racist.

"To deny the fact that racism does not exist, is racist.

"There are so many micro-aggressions that we've always had to face growing up as black people: 'You speak good English...You're pretty, for a black girl...I'm nearly as black as you'.

"We always let these racial micro-aggressions slide. Why? Because who wants to be the difficult black girl?"

She continued: "As black people, we are constantly disrespected and forced to get over it.

"As a white person, when do walk on the street, get stared at, and wonder is it because of my skin colour? Or a bus driver is rude to you and you're not sure whether he's having a day day or if it's because of your skin colour?

"Because that is the kind of questions we ask ourselves every day. Imagine the amount of trauma one must have experienced to think like this. That is how racism affects all of us."

A third speaker also told the crowd that as allies it was their responsibility to educate themselves on their privilege.

She added: "Racism was not built by people of colour; these systems were not built by people of colour. How can the minority change something that majority choose to ignore?"

The names of all those who have died following contact with police or in police custody were then read out followed by eight minutes of silence – in reference to the eight minutes and 46 seconds that George Floyd spend pinned under a white police officer's knee.

A few of those in attendance then took a brief march around the park, to end what was a peaceful protest.

Chief Inspector Gill Marshall, area commander for Stirling, confirmed: "I am pleased to say that the event passed without any incident and the crowd of around 200 people adhered to social distancing."