The horrific video footage of black man George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer in the US sent shockwaves around the world.
Among those who felt them was Imarn Ayton – a drama teacher from Peckham, South-East London, who added her voice to the call for an end to institutionalised racism.
The 30-year-old unexpectedly found herself spearheading rallies in the capital as part of global protests over the father-of-five’s murder.
And she was catapulted to fame after pop icon Madonna, 62, and Star Wars actor John Boyega, 29, gave her their support at gatherings.
Speaking to the Sunday People ahead of the first anniversary of Mr Floyd’s death this Tuesday, Imarn said: “To say I was shocked when I saw the video is an understatement. I went from being horrified to being absolutely livid to being deeply depressed.
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“My transition from being a school teacher to an activist truly began when I organised my first-ever protest with approximately 20,000 people at Parliament Square on the 6th of June.
“One of the attendees was none other than Madonna, who was there in the crowd on crutches.
“We spoke and she asked me to repeat the speech I had made earlier. I also had the privilege of leading Madonna and her family on the march.
“Now if this wasn’t surreal enough, later on that day Madonna added me to her Instagram story.”
Imarn had stumbled into the movement almost by accident a few days after the video of policeman Derek Chauvin kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for nine minutes shocked the world.
The teacher was going to the shops to buy toothpaste when she passed a large crowd chanting “Black lives matter” and joined in on a whim.
This led to her attending the first big protest in Trafalgar Square, where she climbed on to a pillar for a better view.
“A woman handed me a large megaphone and I began to shout ‘Black lives matter’ and the crowd roared it back,” she recalls.
A few days later she took that megaphone to a much larger protest which ended up in Parliament Square.
She said: “As I made my speech, John Boyega made his way through the crowd and stood next to me. I made a speech about institutionalised racism which then led to John’s closing speech, which made headlines across the globe.”
Suddenly, Imarn was on the front pages of newspapers everywhere.
She said: “The fact that Madonna and John attended the London protests helped to amplify the issues associated with racism and inequality and created a much-needed momentum for the Black Lives Matter cause.
“I had no burning desire other than to stand up for equality and justice for black people and I believed we would transition to a new chapter of growth for our society. Little did I know about the obstacles to come.”
Imarn found herself growing disillusioned with the official Black Lives Matter UK movement, which calls for the abolition of capitalism and wants to defund the police.
She said: “They should not be confused with myself or the thousands of people who protested across the UK or took the knee.”
And she accuses the Government of “gaslighting” the UK black community with its recent Race and Ethnic Disparities report concluding there was no evidence of systemic or institutional racism in the UK.
Last July, Imarn launched the Black Reformist Movement, which collaborates with companies helping to educate people on racism in society.
But she remains upbeat about the future and says: “The murder of George Floyd and the BLM movement has allowed for more open, confident conversations centred around racism and inequality.
“People seem more willing to educate themselves about racism and discrimination. But my personal view is that we have yet to have an open national conversation about racism in all its forms.”
Chauvin, 45, was convicted of murder last month and will be sentenced in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 25.
