A “truly inspirational young lady” in Pwllheli is urging others to join her in supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, via social media, from their doorstep.

Sophia Machnik Thomas, 14, will be dropping to one knee on her doorstep tomorrow, 9 June, at 12pm in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I grew up in a white community, it wasn’t until I got exposed to the internet that I started to realise this,” Sophia said of her reasons for leading the effort.

“Then I heard stories about racism and black people getting killed just for being black, I thought that was really unfair.

She added: “I’ve had enough of it and I want it to end. Especially for my younger siblings, they are really young and they don’t know what’s going on.

“I want them to grow up in a world that’s equal.”

Protests were sparked across the world after George Floyd, a black man, died in Minneapolis due to Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, pressing his knee to Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he was handcuffed face down in the street.

Black Lives Matter, founded in 2013, aims to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.

Sophia is now leading a virtual rally in support for the movement by encouraging others to join in her display of support.

Participants are asked to take a picture of themselves and post it on social media.

North Wales Police have also pledged their support and will be joining Sophia in dropping to one knee.

Sophia said: “What really inspired me was the current protests around the world. I really wanted to join a protest but they were too far away. So I decided to hold my own.

“My whole family are going to join and hopefully the community. I’m trying to get as many people involved as possible.”

North Wales Police District Inspector Matt Geddes said: “This is an innovative and mature approach. It provides everybody who wishes to show their support to building equality in our communities, access to a highly visible platform without the need to travel, and without increasing public health risks and demand on our local services.

“It’s commendable that someone so young is willing to publicly display such a level of social conscience as part of this community, and we are proud of Sophia’s caring and sensitive actions.”

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts commented: “I am encouraged to see this level of youth engagement in anti-racism campaigns. The voices of young people in politics has never been so important.

“I hope we can all join Sophia in expressing solidarity with oppressed people everywhere by taking part in this socially distant and virtual protest.”