BBC Radio 1 host Clara Amfo delivered an emotional, powerful opening monologue on her morning show today.
The popular presenter admitted that her mental health had taken a significant blow over the weekend as she attempted to process the horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis a week ago.
The 46-year-old - an African-American man - died after a police officer kneeled on his neck for almost nine minutes and refused to relent despite Floyd begging him to stop as he could not breathe.
In the time that has followed the world has reacted with outrage to the incident and it has shone a new light on racism in society, with large protests and civil unrest breaking out across the States.
Returning to the airwaves today, an emotional Amfo said: "As you know at Radio 1, we talk a lot about mental health and mine was in a really, really bad way yesterday, in fact it has been, for the past few days in particular in relation to the death of George Floyd. George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died whilst being held under arrest.
"Now I didn't have the mental strength to face you guys yesterday, to ask 'Hi, how's your weekend?' like I usually do with my happy intention - because I know that my weekend was terrible. I was sat on my sofa, crying, angry, confused and also knowing stuck at the news of yet another brutalised black body.
"Knowing how the world enjoys blackness and seeing what happened to George, we – black people – get the feeling that people want our culture but do not want us. In other words, you want my talent but you don't want me.
There is a false idea that racism and, in this case, anti-blackness is just name calling and physical violence when it is so much more insidious than that."
Listen to Amfo's words in full below:
Please listen to this clip from Clara Amfo on her Radio 1 show earlier.
— Steve Holden (@SteveH1982) June 2, 2020
Important and powerful radio. pic.twitter.com/KXtnXhHqVG
Neil Wilkes
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