I’d like to respond to the open letter about the protest in Stroud breaking social distancing rules.

I attended the peaceful Black Lives Matter protest on both Thursday and Saturday and thought organisers did a fantastic job of adhering to social distancing. There were marks chalked out 2m away from each other for people to stand on. Also, you weren’t allowed into the protest without a mask and the organisers were handing out masks to those without. Frankly, I’ve felt more unsafe in the supermarket.

Institutionalised racism is rife in the UK and Stroud is not exempt from this. People are hiding behind the guise of social distancing to object this but if they attended the protest, they would’ve seen how safe it was.

There were many powerful speeches made on racism in Stroud, which wouldn’t have been possible without this important protest. It’s time that we, as a town, stand up and make a change.

Many thanks,

Hannah Turner