The Black Lives Matter protests offer us a space to finally heal intergenerational trauma

There have been countless tragedies. But for my peers growing up in Hackney, we were first exposed to this pain directly in the summer of 2017 with the death of Rashan Charles, writes Emmanuel Onapa

The death of young black man Rashan Charles in 2017 during police restraint sparked anti-racism protests (PA)

For the last year my peers and I have been carrying out an historical research project into community relations with police in Hackney. Using archival data, oral history and documentary filmmaking, we have been pulling up the roots of the tensions with police that are now normalised for many young people in our community. The research has thrown up countless tragedies where black people have died or been seriously injured in police custody.

In 1977, a 19-year old black man called Michael Ferreira was stabbed by three white youths on Stoke Newington High Street. Instead of seeking proper medical attention, Stoke Newington police officers decided to question Ferreira extensively before calling an ambulance. His premature death later that night became a focus of anger in the black community with his funeral becoming the site of mass protest and mourning.

In 1983, another young black man, Colin Roach, was found dead in the foyer of Stoke Newington police station with a shotgun wound to his head. Whilst the police and the coroner’s inquest ruled “suicide”, the community claimed foul play with the Roach Family Support Committee quickly set up in order to demand a public inquiry. Regular protests were carried out throughout the 1980s, demanding truth and justice.