Nicola Sturgeon has voiced her support for the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
The First Minister referenced a quote from Toni Morrison, the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in voicing her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Hundreds of thousands of peoples have taken to the streets in the US protesting the death of George Floyd.
READ MORE: Donald Trump vows to 'dominate the streets' by calling in military to end protests
Mr Floyd, who was African-American, died in Minneapolis last week while in police custody, with a bystander’s video showing a white officer putting his knee on his neck for several minutes.
His death sparked a wave of anger, with demonstrations continuing across major US cities.
"If you can only be tall because somebody is on their knees, then you have a serious problem” - the words of the late, great Toni Morrison. Racism is an evil that none of our societies can claim to be immune from. But we must stand against & eradicate it. #BlackLivesMatter
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) June 1, 2020
Many cities, including Los Angeles and New York, are under curfew orders in an attempt to quell the protests.
In an address from the White House Rose Garden on Monday, Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military if state governors did not halt the violence.
The president then walked to the nearby St John’s Church and posed for pictures while holding a bible.
A host of celebrities also voiced concern over the action of President Trump.
Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee, who refers to Mr Trump as “Agent Orange,” wrote on Instagram that the US was on the verge of a dictatorship.
Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B accused the president of threatening people and making protesters “more angry”.
Samuel L Jackson suggested Mr Trump had “declared war on the public,” admitting he fears “it’s about (to) get all kinds of f***ed up here!!”.
George Clooney penned an essay for The Daily Beast, saying America’s greatest pandemic is racism.
He wrote: “How many times have we seen people of colour killed by police? Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Laquan McDonald. There is little doubt that George Floyd was murdered.
“We watched as he took his last breath at the hands of four police officers. Now we see another defiant reaction to the systemic cruel treatment of a portion of our citizens like we saw in 1968, 1992, and 2014.”
The Hollywood star also criticised Mr Trump for his controversial comments amid the protests, with one of his tweets reading: “When the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
Clooney added: “We need policymakers and politicians that reflect basic fairness to all of their citizens equally. Not leaders that stoke hatred and violence as if the idea of shooting looters could ever be anything less than a racial dog whistle.”
British star John Boyega said he did not want to “work in fear” when in the US as he addressed the unrest, while Emily Ratajkowski, Halsey and Anna Kendrick were among the stars joining the weekend’s protests in Los Angeles.
Floyd Mayweather has offered to cover the funeral costs for George Floyd.
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