#AccraBlackOut trends ahead of George Floyd vigil
A hash tag #AccraBlackOut has trended on Twitter in support of a vigil in honour of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in the US.
Nkrumahist group, Economic Fighters League, are organising the vigil Saturday evening in Accra.
Yesterday, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority, Office Of Diaspora Affairs and The Diaspora African Forum, organised a memorial ceremony in honour of him.
Mass protests have been held in major cities in the United States of America and other parts of the world, following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black American who was killed in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck while he was handcuffed face down on the street.
The leadership of the Economic Fighters League, announced a vigil at the Black Star Square Saturday at 7pm.
“In George Floyd’s final minutes, he cried for his Mama, who has been dead for two years. Everytime you think you’re safe, remember that George’s pain is the reality of many black sons and daughters.”
Economic Fighters League to hold vigil in solidarity with US protesters
“It was the reality for Black on Plantations, Migrant Boats and those living in Oppressive regimes. If we don’t fight now, it’d be the reality for our children, also,” the group said in a statement on Twitter.
There is no difference between a black man in America and a black man in Jamaica or a black man in Italy or a black man in China or a black man in Ghana. We are one people. What happens to one of us affects all of us equally. #Accrablackout #BlackLivesMatters pic.twitter.com/XyqrxuCUNJ
— Fighters (@EFLFighters) June 6, 2020
The vigil dubbed AccraBlackOut has been welcomed by loads of Twitter users.
See post below:
I still grief d taadii gals #Taadiigirls #AccraBlackOut
— Hafid Hafid (@hafidstevens) June 6, 2020
At 7pm tonight, the world will either praise Ghana for not being silent in a global out cry or mock us for withholding the freedom to demand justice. #AccraBlackOut
— The GBV Project #ChaleYou4Shun (@the_gbvproject) June 6, 2020
Tonight some people will be on the right side of history, some will try to stop history from being made and others will stand back and watch as history is made. Don’t be mute #AccraBlackOut
— Angry Young Woman✊🏿✊🏿 (@this_abena) June 6, 2020
#AccraBlackOut is a platform to take a stance against injustice, inequality, corruption and oppression that affects you and every black man or woman. Take the platform and take your stance
— The GBV Project #ChaleYou4Shun (@the_gbvproject) June 6, 2020
All the talk about why #AccraBlackOut shouldn’t happen, are the reasons why you should show up. We must stand until it is understood, that our stance is taken for all. Home and abroad.
— Angry Young Woman✊🏿✊🏿 (@this_abena) June 6, 2020
We do not choose the side of the oppressor – Never. As we stand with our people at #AccraBlackOut , we are condemning police brutality in its entirety. #AccraBlackOut #AccraBlackOut #AccraBlackOut #AccraBlackOut #AccraBlackOut
— Angry Young Woman✊🏿✊🏿 (@this_abena) June 6, 2020
#AccraBlackOut is a signal to our Government that we are not afraid to insist on justice. If we can do it for our brothers and sisters faraway, we can do it for ourselves. We are not discriminating between injustices#AccraBlackOut
— Angry Young Woman✊🏿✊🏿 (@this_abena) June 6, 2020
In the middle of UN’s International Decade for People of African Descent (IDPAD), I’d suggest your publication use African, instead of black i.e African American rather than black American, etc.
All the best with the vigil at Black Star Square tonight. I hope the focus will not be solely on the US, but also o matters happening in Ghana that needs attention.