Bermudian schools are standing in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters on the island and around the world.

Many schools will take part in a march along Front Street in Hamilton tomorrow to protest police brutality in the United States and institutional racism around the world.

David Horan, the principal of Warwick Academy, said that the school would march with the help of their social activism group the Human Rights Project.

He added that their fight against racism could not end after the march and must “remain ingrained into our everyday DNA”.

Mr Horan said: “We must acknowledge the many people who experience discrimination in some form in their lives, that it continues today and that it has no place in our society.

“As a school we must look to educate and in doing so build a society that is capable of acknowledging injustices, that listens before speaking and looks to act and change.”

Francoise Palau-Wolffe, the Human Rights Project co-ordinator, said that the group would organise pupils and faculty who want to march on behalf of the school.

She added that they planned to make the fight against racism their main priority for the coming school year.

Demonstrations erupted across the US and spread around the world after the death of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as he was being arrested.

Two protests were held outside the US Consulate in Devonshire this week in response to Floyd’s death as well as the controversial appointment of Lee Rizzuto Jr, a contributor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, as US Consul to the island.

Protesters will meet at the Birdcage at the junction of Front Street and Queen Street tomorrow at noon. Linda Parker, the principal for the Bermuda High School for Girls, said that the school would take part to stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter.

She added that pupils who could not take part were instead invited to create and submit artwork that would be included in a project drawing attention towards the movement.

Ms Parker said that the school would host a lecture that would touch on topics like racism, human rights and the importance of protests that was open to both students and faculty.

She added: “As a school with 125 years of history we have much to be proud of but there are also aspects of our history which are difficult to accept.

“Today, we have a diverse student body and feel a deep commitment to support our students, families and teachers of colour.

“We look forward to the march on Sunday to show our solidarity and support.”

Reeshemah Swan, the principal of Whitney Institute Middle School, expressed solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protests on behalf of the school.

She said that it was important for the school to acknowledge the legacy of racism in Bermuda and the part that institutions played in it.

Ms Swan explained: “We recognise that the united voice rising from around the world is one of unity and strength in support of our black brothers and sisters who have faced systematic racism that was purposefully built into the fabric of our society over more than 400 years of history.

“The racism that we have witnessed in the United States may be more overt and aggressive than what we have seen in Bermuda in recent years, but we acknowledge that no government, no institution, is exempt — including our own school, which was only integrated in the 1970s.”

The Bermuda Institute of Seventh-Day Adventists, in Southampton, pledged solidarity with those in the fight against racism in a statement posted to its Facebook page.

The statement said: “Our school is predominantly filled with black boys and girls who will have to navigate a world that largely sees them as a threat.”

It added: “As much as we would like to shelter them from the pain and hurt, it would be morally, socially and spiritually reckless not to use our voice to create a world that sees them as valuable, important and non-threatening.”