The march was organised by Next Gen Movement following the tragic death of 14-year-old Dea-John Reid in Birmingham and the forthcoming one year anniversary of the Black Lives Matter protests in Nottingham.
The event began at noon today (June 6) in Old Market Square and concluded after approximately one hour in the Forest Recreation Ground.
The turnout was ‘disappointing’, as only under 20 people attended the march, compared to the 4,000 participants that were present last year on June 7 in Nottingham’s Forest Recreation Ground.
One of the organisers, Janelle Brown, 25, expressed her frustration regarding the Black Lives Matter movement being just a social media trend.
She said: “We are reinforcing what has happened, it’s the same with Gay Pride, they do a march every year but there are still problems happening.
“People always ask us what’s changed – well, nothing, really.”
Despite the low attendance at the march, which was advertised by Next Gen Movement on Instagram where it received over 400 likes, participants were chanting in unison as they marched from Old Market Square to Forest Recreation Ground.
Natalia Kaniecka,18, an attendee at the march said: “Black lives still matter, I’ve seen people post about this boy’s murder but I’ve not seen anyone turn up so I felt like I needed to.”
During the march, there were mixed responses from the public that the protesters passed by, with some people supporting the cause, while others invalidated it.
Another attendee, Matt Glass, 24, added: “I am a supporter of ‘Fight racism! and Fight imperialism!’, we are here in solidarity.
“Britain is a wealthy but racist country, people still face racism.”
Organisers of the march, Next Gen Movement, continue to protest and educate people in Nottingham on the issue of racism and have announced that more protests will take place in the following months.
By Rucsandra Moldoveanu and Shannon Samecki
Lead image: Rucsandra Moldoveanu