Norwich student’s Black Lives Matter protest photo seen by one million

Molly-Jo Weldon and Ashlee Jones in London, during the Black Lives Matter rally. Picture: Molly-Jo Weldon (Image: Molly-Jo Weldon)

The snapshot, which shows fellow protester Rosie Smith in conversation with civil rights activist Jim Curran, was caught by Norwich student Molly Weldon.

Miss Weldon, who travelled to the protests from Norwich with her partner, 26-year-old Ashlee Jones, stumbled on the moment in Parliament Square on Friday - and had to photograph it.

She then posted it on social media which saw it widely shared by supporters of the rallies, which has seen it reach more than a million people.

Miss Weldon, who is studying psychology and sociology at City College, said she had been moved to take part in the protests after reading in depth about structural racism and wanted to show her solidarity.

She said: “We were looking for the march as we wanted to show our support and ended up in Parliament Square.

“They were really engaged in conversation with one another and it felt like a really special moment so I just thought I had to take a quick snap.”

The photograph shows Miss Smith and Mr Curran sat on a wall, with the Irish activist wearing a sign which reads: “Racism is a virus, we are the vaccine.”

Miss Weldon added: “Over the last two years I have been come more and more aware of the structural racism in the country and have read about it a lot.

“It was quite a difficult decision whether to go, as we obviously want to stay safe and keep to the rules, but at the same time it felt like the right time to protest. Fortunately, everything was so peaceful on Friday and we were able to keep distance from people while also taking part.”

Since being posted, the photograph has been shared thousands of times on social media, across both Facebook and Twitter.

“It was a truly magical moment,” Miss Weldon added.