Voice of London

Extinction Rebellion march for the final time this year. Founded in 2018, the climate change campaigners have been protesting throughout the UK. We followed Extinction Rebellion from their starting point at Trafalgar Square.

Thousands of people attended the march which took place yesterday in central London. Crowds followed and joined alongside as Extinction Rebellion marched for the final time through the streets of London, stopping at every monumental building and landmark. From Downing Street, Westminster Abbey and the London Eye, extinction rebellion paraded.

“We don’t want to cause any trouble, we’re trying to prevent trouble for the next generation” a protestor told me as they sang the songs of the rebellion, they marched at a slow place. The Red Brigade joined the rebellion, representing ‘the common blood we share with all species, that unifies us and makes us one’, according to an interview with The Metro. Initially created by Bristol Street performance group, the Invisible Circus, they first appeared during political protests against the Iraq War in 2001, and now parading alongside extinction rebellion in 2019. The brigades facial expressions stay neutral, showing no emotion, yet are the centre of the protest. With their draping red costumes, and their consistent pale makeup, they are an instantly recognisable group.

The red hands of the protestors, made from washable chalk paint, harmless to the environment. This represents the guilt and that they accept the blame for their actions, therefore the red representing the ‘blood on their hands’ says the protester pictured being interviewed. Overheard in the crowd of protesters, we were told that each protester with red hands was willing to get arrested at the end of the march in order to show their support. With thousand of protesters already intentionally getting arrested, many more stand in solidarity with them. Extinction Rebellion protests take a non-violent form, claiming they will only perform peaceful protests with no violence.

Many protesters brought their children along with them for the protests. “It is important to bring children so they aware from a young age of the problems that are occurring’, one protester said, along with her baby daughter. Lots of small groups formed, some creating paintings and prints, some for poetry, and some discussing the changes they would make.

Images and words: Ivana Finch