BLM Portsmouth leaders, Alex Ruddock and Midia Medina share their experience with the movement in an interview with Milcah Fajardo, and their response to the backlash it received in mainstream news.
Coronavirus struck the year 2020 more than any other pandemic in modern history. But while vaccines and modern medicine are taking steps to reduce fatalities, systemic racism continues to oppress and kill black lives to this day.
The wrongful deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many more, struck the lives of many to take a stand this past year – including Alex Ruddock and Midia Medina.
After the first wave of protests in the UK, 27-year-old Alex joined the Black Lives Matter movement, so that no one else, including herself and her five-year-old daughter, would ever have to suffer from the effects of racism ever again.
As for 27-year-old Midia, she couldn’t have predicted that one day she’d find herself in the position as one of the lead organisers of BLM Portsmouth if she hadn’t decided last minute to speak up and tell her story at the BLM Protest in March.
Despite all the support the BLM movement got in protests, petitions, and social media, the public protests received a lot of backlash from the news and tabloids regarding COVID-19.
“It was frustrating,” says Midia. “We did our best to make sure everyone was social distancing, making sure there were sanitisers, masks and covers for the microphones. They were focusing on the negative side, instead of the cause and the progress we made to achieve our plans while also being aware of the pandemic.”
When it came to the Portsmouth local news and how they covered the protests, it came to light that they were no different than the mainstream news and tabloids.
“Portsmouth News, funnily enough, regarding the second protest, didn’t have much to say about how well we handled it,” says Alex. “There was a counter protest there and they focused on that more than the actual cause and that really surprised me.”
The BLM Movement was met with a lot of negative retaliation in the news, not just in Portsmouth but all over the world. The majority of which showed partiality to either the police force or coronavirus regulation and failed to address the reality that racism is a pandemic too.
“People are very quick to defend a pandemic or an illness that affects everyone of all races and colours,” says Midia. “But when it comes to racism people are quick to tell you to get over it and that it’s not that bad. But it is that bad. Racism kills, racism has killed, slavery killed millions, apartheid killed millions. It keeps happening time and time again.”
Midia and her experience is one among millions of others who have also suffered from the effects of racism in society. “Because of racism, I have lost a lot, because of racism I have woken up wishing this wasn’t my skin colour. I fear that if we don’t take a stand, it will carry on happening for many years to come and that’s what we’re trying to stop. Racism is a pandemic and there are no signs of it slowing down,” she adds.
In spite of the negative news coverage, Alex, Midia, and the team took the criticism and used it to work even harder to keeping the protests as safe as possible.
“When they highlight how the protests weren’t socially distanced, we’d make steps to our plans for the next protests so that there was nothing they could use against us,” says Alex. “Whatever you do whether it’s for right or for wrong, you’re always going to hear about the bad more, so it just motivates us to do better.”
2020 felt like a time when racism and police brutality was at a height, but the reality is that it always has been happening. The only difference now is that people are actively recording these events and sharing it online for the world to see.
With all that, coupled with COVID-19 consuming the media, it made navigating day-to-day life and processing the world news overwhelming for many.
Not only did Alex struggle at first with processing what was happening in the world, but she also had to face the same reality with her five-year-old daughter, Nala.
“First of all how do you educate someone about the fact that they are being killed because of their skin colour,” says Alex. “I don’t want to scare her but at the same time, me and her have already suffered racism together in Portsmouth. I’m not going to bring her up in a world where she’s in a bubble when it’s happening on our doorstep.”
Alex and Nala received a lot of attention from their involvement in the protests with the local news. However even with the positive news coverage, they still received some negative comments online.
“There were two comments that struck me when Nala’s photo went on the news,” says Alex. “The first one said, ‘Can’t wait to see you on a ventilator.’ You’re really wishing my daughter on a ventilator? And the second was, ‘Mum’s like this should be reported to social services because there is no way that you’re a responsible parent bringing your daughter to a protest’.”
She adds: “I’m telling you, from the bottom of my heart, if that protest was not safe, my daughter would not be there. People during this pandemic have too much time on their hands and hide behind their little computers to say these things.”
Alex and Midia both agreed that the pandemic has had a negative impact on society with racism. “Maybe we would have more positive coverage if there wasn’t the pandemic, but we can’t help that and we can’t help that the time is now to take our stand,” says Midia.
Regardless of how it was negatively portrayed in the news, the protest and marches created a sense of togetherness for all people.
With all the chaos and pain that struck the year 2020, the BLM movement gave a voice to those who felt voiceless – as it did for Alex and Midia
“I went to the protest and I just wanted to be there in solidarity and to listen to people’s stories, says Midia. “After that protest I was no longer feeling angry anymore, or alone, like I was the only one going through that in Portsmouth. So really that’s what made me speak up, knowing that if people at least hear my story, maybe people don’t feel as alone as I did before.”
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