Black Lives Matter in Hay, Hereford and Brecon

Peaceful protests against racism under the banner of Black Lives Matter have been taking place all over the world in the last couple of weeks. On Saturday 20th June, the first BLM peaceful protest will take place in Hay. The idea is for people to gather (appropriately socially distanced) at the Clock Tower in time for noon, when everyone will kneel for eight minutes and 46 seconds - the time it took for George Floyd to die when a police officer knelt on his neck, which was the incident that led to the world-wide protests.
The organisers are asking people to bring placards and banners, and to wear masks (because we are still in the middle of a pandemic).

There will be a similar protest meeting in Hereford at the same time.

Meanwhile in Brecon, a Black Lives Matter protest was disrupted by men who stood round the war memorial (did they think the protesters were going to pull it down?). Later that evening, some signs that the protesters had left on display in the middle of Brecon were pulled down, including a banner with a poem about slavery and racism by the black poet Marvin Thompson.
I hadn't heard of Marvin Thompson before, but it seems that he was born in London, has Jamaican ancestry, and now lives in South Wales. His poems have appeared in several literary journals, and he wrote this one specially for the people of Brecon.

There has also been a BLM demonstration in Knighton, as reported in the Brecon and Radnor Express, which was intended to celebrate difference and diversity in the local community, as well as opposing the government's "hostile environment" for refugees.