CAMPAIGNERS unfurled a Black Lives Matter banner on the iconic Colmer's Hill.
The powerful gesture of support was organised by Emily Bolton, director of charity Appeal, who lives in nearby Symondsbury.
The Bridport Black Lives Matter Banner is a pilot project of the Lyric Theatre’s Curtain Up On Communities initiative. The Lyric, always a dynamic and community-rooted enterprise, donated its curtain to make the backdrop for the banner because the Lyric is closed as a theatre due to Covid 19.
The Lyric cannot raise its curtain in a proscenium arch on Barracks Street. So instead the Lyric Curtain is being raised on events in our community.
The banner was stitched by a group of Symondsbury residents over a few days.
They carried the 12 x 8 metre banner to the hill and unfurled it, followed by kneeling in silence with social distancing, in tribute to the Black Lives Matters movement.
Emily and her husband Clive Stafford-Smith, who has worked on civil rights issues in the USA, aim to raise £1,000 for The Bronx Defenders. Some £205 has already been raised.
The public defender charity is transforming how low-income people in the Bronx, New York, are represented in the justice system.
This tribute to George Floyd, who died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, took place on the same day as his funeral in Houston, Texas.
Emily's work with Appeal consists of finding justice for the wrongly convicted and reforming the criminal justice system. She formerly worked as an attorney-at-law in Louisiana.
Emily said: "Banners on green hills far away are not enough - the movement needs money, so we are fundraising for The Bronx Defenders.
"As the police in the Bronx continue to harass and attack peaceful protesters exercising their constitutional rights, BDX stands ready to zealously defend them. BDX has launched a 24 hour hotline to facilitate access to attorneys during emergencies.
"If residents of The Bronx attend a protest and are arrested, wanted by the police, or otherwise concerned about their legal rights, they can reach out to to the BDX hotline any time of day.
"Bridport is standing with The Bronx Defenders, because The Bronx Defenders save black lives."
*To donate to the Black Lives Matter - From Bridport to The Bronx appeal, visit crowdfunder.co.uk/search/projects and search for 'Black Lives Matter - from Bridport to the Bronx.'
Video by James Loveridge
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