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T.J Zimba is tired.
Tired of the racism he said he experienced every day. Tired of the scenes of racism he has been seeing around the world.
"It’s not just New Zealand, it’s not just America, it’s wherever black people of colour are."
He was one of about 250 protesters who marched in Dunedin to voice their opposition to racism and colonialism yesterday.
Many New Zealanders would not be aware there was a "real big racism problem" in the country, he said.
"We’re just here to shine a light on that."
Chanting "no justice, no peace", they walked from the Otago Museum reserve to the Octagon.
It was one of several marches around the country, which attracted thousands of people, in the wake of the death of American George Floyd.
The Auckland march ended at the US consulate, where protesters knelt and observed a minute of silence for George Floyd.
In Wellington, close to 3000 protesters marched from Civic Square to Parliament.
At Dunedin’s event, signs emblazoned with messages such as "Black Lives Matter" and "We need decent jobs not cops" were carried by some marchers.
Organiser Eddie Ennion (22) said he grew up in Dunedin, and said he was the only black child at his school.
He wanted to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, and said he finally felt old enough to do something about it.
He was happy with the turnout, and said part of the movement locally was also to bring the city’s African community closer together.