Why has Black Lives Matter come to the UK? Your questions answered
- Published
Police officers talk with protesters who blovk the tram tracks in Nottingham
Black Lives Matter has come to the UK with protests targeting airports, motorways and other transport hubs around the country.
Protesters are trying to draw attention to what they see as a crisis in the way black people are treated.
The protests have split opinion and debates have broken out across social media.
Natasha Nkonde is one of the organisers of the Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the UK.
She's been responding to questions posed by you on our BBC Newsbeat's Facebook page, external.
The Black Lives Matter movement has grown into a major campaign against police killings in the US
Why does there need to be a Black Lives Matter in the UK?
"We know that in the UK there have been over 1500 deaths in police custody. Many of those are black people," says Natasha.
"We also know black people are 37 time more likely to be stopped and search by the police.
"We know there has been a 57 % increase in racist hate crimes since Brexit.
"So we believe that we are in a crisis; that black lives in the UK are in a considerable amount of danger - shown by these facts."
Activist Marcia Riggs hold a placard during the Black Lives Matter protest march for Mzee Mohammed
Why doesn't every life matter?
"We know that historically the lives of black people have not been treated with the same value as the lives of white people.
"We only need to look at stories of people like Julian Coles whose neck was broken and he's now been left paralysed.
"People like Mzee Mohammed killed in Liverpool just a few weeks ago.
"A working-class black woman, Sarah Reed, who was beaten up by the Met police and found dead in her police cell.
"Those stories represent what is happening to black people, what is happening to Muslims in the street.
"And of course it's important to talk about how lots of people are impact by police brutality, but black people are disproportionately affected by police brutality."
Shouldn't all ethnicities be fought for in this campaign?
"No I totally disagree, as I already highlighted.
"It's the lives of black people that are disproportionately being attacked.
"We know that over 3,000 people who are black and brown people have drowned in the Mediterranean in 2016 alone. That's a huge crisis."
Heathrow Airport said the chaos on the motorway did not appear to cause people to miss flights
Why would you ruin someone's holiday and cause them problems?
"We've shut down this major transport hub because we believe the conventional avenues to justice have already been shut down to us.
"The family of Leon Patterson have been waiting 24 years for justice, external, a really tragic story.
"A few hours delay is an irritation. Twenty-four years to get justice for your dead child. I just don't think the two are compatible."
What about blocking a hospital road?
"We wanted to shut down major transport hubs.
"All roads will lead to different important services that people need."
Won't this impact innocent people who would have supported your campaign?
"I consider Julian Cole to be an innocent person who was attacked by a load of police officers.
"So what would you say to Julian Cole's family?"
"I would highlight that the reason why we are causing disruption is because we believe there is a huge crisis on our hands in the way black people are being treated in the UK.
"And we take that very seriously."
Some of the protesters' arms were linked with tubes which appeared to be sealed in concrete
Why aren't you targeting institutions like police headquarters and government buildings instead?
"This protest today is about shutting down major transport to get some mainstream media attention for what we see as a crisis.
"But every single day we are fighting for the lives of ordinary black people.
"The work of Black Lives Matter UK - which is a network of activists - is going on every single day. "
There is broad support for the campaign but this is annoying some people. What would you say to them?
"I would want to bring it back to the tragic stories of people like Sarah Reed who was beaten up by a police officer. Whose family now don't have their child.
"You can't compare your annoyance to their experience."
In July hundreds marched in a joint a protest demanding an end to austerity
Stop and searches by police have reduced over time. What more do you want to see?
"I applaud all of the progress made so far. But we know that it is not good enough.
"We know that black people, and Muslims are still being disproportionately stopped and searched.
"I know of hundreds of stories. I've been stopped and searched by the police. Friends of mine have been stopped and searched by the police.
"This is a daily problem that we face from the state. And we want it to stop."
There's huge diversity and no discriminatory laws in the UK. What is your view on that?
"The way institutional racism works is not just through the laws.
"It is through black people being 44% more likely to be detained under the mental health act than white people.
"Black graduates in work are earning a quarter less than their white counterparts.
"You can have the laws in pace but we know the way structural racism works mean the work has to be done all the time, every single day in every single institution."
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