The Accra International Book Festival has sent passionate words of solidarity to the black community across the world, especially in America over the crude murder of unarmed black man, George Floyd.

The Afro-Book Festival in a statement last Saturday said nobody – white or black, deserves to experience the George Floyd kind of death ever again.

“We are fortified in our belief that the time has come for all of us to respect and cherish the life of our neighbour no matter their past,” the statement read.

Mr Floyd was murdered by a group of police officers while in custody.

His death has sparked a wave of protests across the world, highlighting the systematic hatred directed at the black community in America and Europe specifically.

Wading into the matter, the Afro-Book Festival said it supports the rallying call for justice for the family of Floyd.

“It is disappointing that after so many years some people find it difficult to walk away from their old, discarded and abandoned racist legacy,” the statement said.

“It is the considered view of the Accra International Book Festival that the manner George Floyd was sent to his ancestors should not be experienced by anyone – white or black, no matter their past,” the statement said.

“Let his death cleanse our world from the silent pandemic killing black men and women in America and Europe – racism,” the statement concluded.