Black Lives Matter.
Three simple words which when put together make a universal plea for help.
Yet it also provokes anger in some, a retort of all lives matter by others. All lives do matter, of course they do, but when not all lives are equal then the message loses its impact.
Colin Kaepernick, an American Football player, effectively gave up his career for publicly protesting by kneeling during the US national anthem before NFL matches.
Others followed his lead but the their attempt to shine a light on the need for equality met with disdain by US president Donald Trump, who at one of his rallies in Alabama in 2017 told the world owners should take the protesting players off the field and fire them.
Their cry for help met with disdain and threats by the president of the United States.
The pattern has continued.
The death of American George Floyd while being placed under arrest by the Police in the United States on May 25 has been the catalyst for the current series of protests and marches across the world.
The Black community, treated differently purely because of the colour of their skin, have put up with it for years but their sense of injustice is growing stronger and so is the level of support they are gaining.
Aberdeen’s three black players, Funso Ojo, Shay Logan and Greg Leigh, all lent their support to the cause at the weekend, but Belgian midfielder Ojo knows a long road lies ahead.
He said: “Racism and social injustice is something which should concern everyone.
“In the NFL people got sacked by their teams for taking a knee and protesting. What are you supposed to do? What do you want them to do?
“Not everyone has to agree with the movement. Sometimes it is frustrating to see people comment on the Black Lives Matter movement by saying all lives matter.
“I think it has been said many times that we are not saying that all lives don’t matter.
“But for all lives to matter, Black Lives have to matter as well.
“To see King Leopold’s statue in Belgium taken down because people have finally admitted he killed ten million Africans in Congo.
“In London, Bristol and Oxford statues have been taken down – and that is an important step towards change.
“I don’t feel that we need to erase history by taking them down and forgetting about them because it happened.
“And we need to still be aware of what has happened in countries. But I don’t think we need to idolise those people.”
Ojo’s experience of Scottish football has been a positive one since moving to Aberdeen last summer but he been on the receiving end of racist abuse in his career.
Dutch football is notorious for racism and Ojo was one of several PSV Eindhoven players to feel the brunt from fans.
He said: “ADO Den Haag have a pretty hardcore fanbase and, on one side of the pitch, they’re not really fans of black people.
“I was playing right-back, Gini Wijnaldum was right midfield and Jermaine Lens was right winger – so by chance all three of us were on the same side.
“It was just a whole half of monkey chants.
“We just laughed it off, but if it happened now we would have walked off the pitch. But it was normal then. If we had said anything at that time nothing would have happened.
“Did it hurt? Yes, of course it did. I am emotional about injustice and have been right up to crying about it.
“On the pitch, those guys were older. I was ready to fight, but they had the experience and told me to laugh it off.
“They said we have better lives than them, they don’t know any better so just laugh it off and get on with the game.
“But as I said, I don’t think that would happen now because it’s taken more seriously.”
Enduring racist abuse is difficult enough. Changing it, depressingly, seems a near impossible task, but Ojo is refusing to concede defeat in his fight for equality.
He said: “Education and awareness is the key.
“I wished I was more educated about racism and injustice when I was younger. I just hope that the movement continues.
“I am talking about Belgium now, but it probably happens here as well.
“People say it is not as bad as in the United States. But to say ‘not as bad’ is already admitting there is a problem.
“It doesn’t need to be as bad as the United States to make a change. If you see that there is a problem why not try to fix it.
“Why not start now? There has to be an uprising. I don’t support the looting or the vandalism, but I do support the peaceful protest.”