MORE than 200 people who gathered in Carlisle to protest about the killing of US African American George Floyd by a white police officer heard moving accounts of lives blighted by racism.

The city centre protest at the weekend has triggered a heated online debate.

Some people criticised the oganisers for pressing ahead with the event in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, saying it could drive up infection rates locally.

But a greater number of people leapt to the event’s defence, pointing out that strict social distancing measures were in place and that it was vital to show solidarity with the international Black Lives Matter movement, which has been galvanised by the tragedy in Minneapolis.

Mr Floyd died on May 25.

The video of the 46-year-old being killed - the result of police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes as Mr Floyd repeatedly said “I can’t breath” - triggered revulsion around the world and huge protests, both across the US and in the UK.

The Carlisle protest began with the crowd being invited to kneel for eight minutes and 46 seconds - the length of time Chauvin had his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck. As this happened, many protesters chanted what has become the Black Lives Matter battlecry: “I can’t breathe.”

Then came a series of personal accounts.

One local black woman, in her early 20s, told the crowd: “I am in so much pain. We have gone through this since the beginning of our lives. It feels like it’s never-ending. I see friends suffering, and I can’t do anything; I can’t speak.”

The crowd also heard from a black NHS worker. He said: “If I walk down the street in Carlisle, I see old women cross the street to get away; if I go out in my NHS uniform, they applaud me.”

Many of those present found the stories moving.

In her social media post, Catti Park said: “I cried listening to one of the ladies speak today as she spoke of her experiences in our city and I imagined the future of my kids growing up in Carlisle with the prejudice, racism and insults they’ve already been subjected to at the ages of 11 and four.

Jacquina Barnes wrote: “It was an amazing, heartfelt and proud moment for Carlisle. Over three hours of speeches from the audience, volunteering to share their experiences.

“That time flew on.

“The only time that didn’t fly in was the eight mins 46 seconds kneeling for George Floyd. That was an incredibly long time to observe - and wonder how the people present at his murder could stand back, watch and listen to his repeated plea for help.”

Jack Cardwell, 20, one of the organisers, said: “We started with the eight minutes, 46 seconds of kneeling. It was very emotional. A lot of people were in tears.”

He said the police were told about the plan for a peaceful protest. “They got in touch and we told them what we planned and they were comfortable with it,” he said. “We’d marked out social distancing spaces. Nearly everyone had a mask, and we handed ones out to people who didn’t have one. It was amazing to hear people’s stories.”

But on Facebook, Martin Ewin said: “The North West of England is still a hotspot for Covid and is still having a lot of potential for the rates to rise. So gatherings like this could help to see a rise in Covid cases.”

Terry Harvey-Chadwick commented: “Some things, like centuries-old, ingrained, institutional racism, are bigger than Covid - but the timing could have been better.