The student population in Basingstoke has exponentially surged as an effect of Covid-19 related university, secondary school, and college closures.

This statistic certainly made itself known as I headed out to report on a peaceful protest taking place in Eastrop Park on Friday, June 5.

More than 100 gathered to pay homage to the victims of atrocious tragedies of police-brutality seen in America recently; but also, to the years of injustice embedded in institutions.

The names of victims, George Floyd, Belly Mujinga, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, were chanted into the humid June air with a sense of purposeful anger, not an empty sadness.

When I spoke to protesters, they highlighted the importance of shouting these names. “When people hear a human name associated with a murder, I hope that people can understand the black community’s anguish makes it real in some way”, one protester told me. Although it was a peaceful protest, it was anything but quiet.

The park benches were stages – for speeches, chants, and passionate spoken word performances. In the era of social media activism, there is a clear danger of committing ‘virtue signalling’ – performative action without a continued sentiment or supportive actions taken offline.

A protest allows for a display of physical solidarity; a confirmation that the thousands of black squares posted on Instagram for #BlackoutTuesday can extend beyond just digital solidarity, to real life compassionate all-ship.

Different speakers lead the crowd and spoke urgent messages of action. “It is not enough to show up here with our signs without fighting for real change back at home,” one protester urged the crowd.

The sentiment that ‘change starts from home’ was echoed through the people I spoke to. Chanelle, 36, who had brought her children to the protests, spoke passionately: “I brought my children today to show them [the solidarity]. I want them to see that this is something close to their mother’s heart. This is also going to inevitably affect them as they grow up to be young black men. I want them to see that there’s more to our culture than what’s showed in the media: violence and injustice. There is so much culture and diversity that should be celebrated.”

There is an inextricable relationship between today’s youth and a passion for activism, because this is a fight their future. Everyone’s future; which must be protected, nurtured, and fought for. Soham Patel, aged 19, was inspired to see such a diverse crowd of protesters: “Basingstoke is so diverse and houses many different communities. It truly is a melting pot of different cultures, so it is so important to see that represented in situations that call for everyone’s support."

There is a certain tendency in university students to depart from the mindset and social environment of their hometown, in favour of a bigger student city with a greater grasp of the current Zeitgeist. However, everyone I spoke to emphasised the idea of ‘hometown change’. Basingstoke is home to many young people who want to be free to call out our own community in order to uplift all residents. Protester Blaize Daley, 30, said: “Places like Basingstoke are the most important towns to start a chain of change."