'HOPE', 'solidarity', and 'education' - these were the words spoken by so many yesterday online and in person about Reading's Black Lives Matter protest.

Protesters in their hundreds took to the streets of central Reading to march, and show support for the Black Lives Matter movement taking place across the globe.

The cause of the protests were sparked by the killing in the US of George Floyd.

A video went viral of the moment when a Minneapolis police officer knelt on the neck of Mr Floyd, despite him crying out that he could not breathe. 

He had been reported to police for allegedly using counterfeit money at a store in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He later died.

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Since their have been protests right across the world, and in Reading hundreds of residents took to the streets to 'stand together' against the killing.

Crowds of people gathered outside Reading's Town Hall for the start of the protest at 1pm on Friday, June 5.

There were speeches before the march took protestors to the town's black history mural around 2pm, where crowds and crowds of people could be seen crossing the IDR.

Thames Valley Police was in attendance to monitor the peaceful protest, which then moved on to Forbury Gardens for further speeches.

The crowds also fell silent, as many dropped down to one knee, to pay their respects in memory of George Floyd.

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The march was organised by various smaller-scale protests collaborating in order to maximise the impact of the event, according to the protest organiser.

Protest organiser Oscar Turner, aged 19, said after the protest: "We are very happy with it.

"Our main aim was to allow people a space to have their voices heard and felt heard, bringing the community together in solidarity."

"We needed to carry the protest out safely with being in a pandemic at the moment - we didnt want to add any risk to the community.

READ MORE: Reading to hold peaceful Black Lives Matter protest following killing of George Floyd

"Lots of people have masks and social distanced as best as we could while on the march, and speakers were good at reminding people to keep their distance.

"We didn't actually plan to have that many speakers.

"The people who wanted to speak came forward, and took the mic and that's why it took a little longer than planned as well. It was very 'off the bat'."

Reading Chronicle:

According to Mr Turner, the protest plans began at the beginning of the week, after he created an instagram account advertising the event.

He said: "Last night (Thursday) we had around 600 followers on Instagram, with maybe 300 people interacting with the Instagram account. 

READ MORE: 'Black lives matter': University of Reading speaks out on George Floyd killing

"This morning we were pushing 1,000 followers, with our posts being shared thousands of times. It sort of blew up overnight."

Residents of all backgrounds attended, showing their support not only with charts and placards but through other creative means, such as one person who wrote the names of other African-American men who had been killed by police on his T-shirt.

Another protester simply sellotaped the words "I can't breathe" to his face mask.

Other organisations also joined, including activists from the Reading Socialist Party, as well as a Palestine Solidarity campaigner.

Following the success of this protest, a sit-down protest has been organised and given the go-ahead by police and Reading Borough Council, set to take place on June 13. For more information, visit facebook.com/events/288317859226580/.