The Isle of Thanet Protests


As we are still in the midst of Covid19 I thought rather than unearthing a wedding from last year I would instead blog about a project I am currently working on.


On June 7th and June 13th, Margate and Ramsgate respectively saw two large scale protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. The protests were organised by a local group called the "People Dem Collective." The Margate protest began on Ethelbert Crescent finishing at the white steps on Margate beach, just outside the Turner Contemporary Gallery. The Ramsgate protest began at a Bandstand on Wellington Crescent and finished in Victoria Gardens Broadstairs. Both protests were carefully organised with masks and water being handed out and messages reminding people to social distance.


This is the first protest I have photographed but will not be the last, the energy and passion of the protesters make these stories that should be told.


Below I have included a small selection of the images I made over both protests. I am working on a larger project that I hope will end with a body of work that looks a little closer at these two protests and the people behind them.

My Favourite Image


I was lucky enough to have this image used for an article by a local publication, the Thanet Tribune, but that is not why this is my favourite photo. There are several things I like about this photo, I managed to capture the iconic Margate Lido in the background, but I would put that down to luck more than anything. Also if you look closely enough you can see the crowd far into the distance but mainly I like the photo for the determination that you can see on the lady leading the protest, you can almost feel how much this means to her as she leads over 500 people in protest against racism.

This image was taken at the Margate protest just as the crowd arrived at the seafront. It's hard to tell under the face masks but you can still see and still feel how much these two believe in this protest.

This was taken in Broadstairs, the crowd had just walked along the coast from Ramsgate. The image shows part of the crowd during the 8 minute and 46 seconds kneel. This is the same amount of time that George Floyd's neck was knelt on by an American Policeman.

Photofilm


To try and project a small part of the passionate and electrifying atmosphere that enveloped both of these protests I have put together a short photofilm containing a selection of images and audio from both the Margate and Ramsgate protests. This 5 minute and 23 seconds is a mere snapshot of what was a beautifully powerful yet an entirely peaceful protest.

“THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS RACE. NONE. THERE IS JUST A HUMAN RACE”

A Few More Images

I have included a small selection of images from both protests below.