'It’s about everyone against racists' - Hearts ace Sean Clare opens up on the Black Lives Matter movement and attending London rally

The Hearts midfielder was part of the protests in London over the weekend marching against injustice

Sean Clare attended a Black Lives Matter rally at the weekend. Picture: SNS

Hearts star Sean Clare has spoken of the positives which have arisen out of the Black Lives Matter movement which saw the Englishman take to the streets of London to march in the rally protesting against injustice at the weekend.

Protests took place up and down the UK, including in Edinburgh and Glasgow, as well as across the world following the death of George Floyd, who was killed by police in Minneapolis last month.

In the aftermath of Floyd’s death, rallies were widespread in the United States.

Clare spoke candidly about racism. Picture: SNS

Despite the threat of coronavirus, Clare wanted to be part of the movement, show his support and do his bit for change.

He told the Daily Record: “My motivation to march was to be part of the cause and everything the march stood for. It’s about enacting change and doing it the right way.

“It’s not just about change for black people, it’s for society as a whole and the world by trying to make things better for everyone.

“It’s so important that we try to change the world not only for ourselves but for future generations, for our kids and our kid’s kids.

“Given the fact the virus is still a problem, I discussed going on the march with my mum and her partner who I’ve been isolating with.

“We talked things through and they were okay for me to go so I went and took all of the precautions that I could.”

‘The unity we have’

He added: “It’s about everyone against racists. It’s everyone against the racist systems which are in place within so much of society. It’s not black versus white or Asian versus black, it’s everyone against the racists and fascists.

“That’s why I believe this movement can benefit the world, not just one people.

“The unity we have, the amount of diversity and different ages, it was men, women and children who were marching as one. It was remarkable and that was only that one day when I joined the march.”

The 23-year-old admitted that he saw racism as a “taboo” subject and has felt uncomfortable talking about it but he has been emboldened by the reaction and support he has witnessed, while also taking the opportunity to educate himself.

“I see so many non-black people now coming out and saying they may never fully understand racism but they support us and stand with us,” Clare said.

“Just because you haven’t experienced something doesn’t mean it’s right. If I can use my platform as a footballer to help stimulate conversation then I will do that.

“So many people are researching things and watching, listening and having these types of conversations and that’s had a massive impact. On a local scale it’s happening in communities, amongst friends and families and that is the recipe for change.

‘Accountable’

“People can have stereotypes, microaggressions and things they say, think or do which they’ve been brought up with and they don’t quite realise that it feeds into racism.

“It’s not necessarily their fault as it’s something they’ve been brought up with and been normalised. But in this age of social media, the biggest crime is not to educate yourself because there’s so much information out there.

“I’ll be the first to hold my hands up, in this time I’ve learned so much more about racism than I ever have either at school or during the rest of my life. I ask myself why I haven’t looked into it more.

“We have to all hold ourselves accountable as ignorance isn’t an excuse any longer.”