20,000 take to Sydney's streets in Black Lives Matter protest

At least 20,000 protesters have defied pleas by the NSW Premier and police and marched through Sydney's CBD as part of the Black Lives Matter movement that has swept the world and reignited debate over the treatment of Indigenous Australians.

In the biggest public gathering in NSW since the coronavirus restrictions were imposed in mid-March, thousands of protesters gathered at Sydney's Town Hall yesterday afternoon, chanting "Black lives matter" and "I can't breath".

Chad Brown with his son and friend William Pires. [Source: smh.com.au]

They turned up despite concerns about coronavirus transmission and the protest being ruled unlawful by the NSW Supreme Court late on Friday evening. This decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal shortly before the march officially began.

Several people were arrested in Central Station where police used pepper spray to disperse a small group of protesters.

Up to 100 protesters in Central Station were hit with pepper spray after the main march in Sydney dispersed. [Source: smh.com.au]

Standing shoulder to shoulder, the mask-clad crowd moved from the steps of Town Hall through the CBD, guided by police in a march towards Belmore Park.

Tensions briefly escalated when police officers refused demands by protesters to kneel in respect of Indigenous lives lost in custody but the march was relatively peaceful.

[Source: smh.com.au]

[Video Source: The Guardian]