Black Lives Matter activists called for a 'nationwide shutdown' as they blocked roads at Heathrow and Birmingham airport today.
The movement, which started up in the United States, disrupted hundreds of holidaymakers and commuters across the UK in protest of 'racist violence'.
Campaigners called for a '#Shutdown' after the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police in 2011.
They claim they shut down roads to "mourn those who have died in custody and to protest the ongoing racist violence of the police, border enforcement, structural inequalities and the everyday indignity of street racism."
It follows the horrific shootings that claimed the lives of five police officers in Dallas, Texas, during a Black Lives Matter protest last month.
The demonstration was held in the wake of the deaths of Philando Catile, 32, and Alton Sterling, 37, who were both killed by police in incidents which sparked outrage across the country.
But what is Black Lives Matter? And how has the movement taken off in the UK?
The movement campaigns against violence toward black people.
In 2013, the movement began with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media, following the second-degree murder acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot unarmed African-American teenager Trayvon Martin.
The organisation BLM, which was set up by black community organisers Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, holds protests over the deaths of black people at the hands of police officers.
It also campaigns about the wider issues of racial profiling, police brutality, the black prison population and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system and has been dubbed "a new civil rights movement".
A statement on the movement's website states: "When we say Black Lives Matter, we are broadening the conversation around state violence to include all of the ways in which Black people are intentionally left powerless at the hands of the state.
"We are talking about the ways in which Black lives are deprived of our basic human rights and dignity."
Activists have demonstrated against the deaths of numerous other African Americans by police actions or while in police custody, including Tamir Rice, Eric Harris, Walter Scott, Mike Brown, Jonathan Ferrell, Sandra Bland, Samuel DuBose, and Freddie Gray.
The video for Beyonce's 'Lemonade' featured Mike Brown and Trayvon Martin's mothers crying while holding the last images they have of their sons.
In 2015, tennis star Serena Williams expressed her support for Black Lives Matter, writing to BLM: "Keep it up. Don't let those trolls stop you.
"We've been through so much for so many centuries, and we shall overcome this too."
The Dallas protest was carried out peacefully and was drawing to a close when shots rang out and demonstrators fled in terror.
A suspect traded gunfire with police in a tense stand-off after being cornered in a parking garage before reportedly turning the gun on himself.
Another suspect reportedly told police 'the end is coming' and there are bombs 'across the city'.
At a press conference police confirmed two men and a woman have been arrested.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the shooters “planned to injure and kill as many law enforcement officers as they could".
Alton Sterling pinned to the ground and shot dead
Alton Sterling was shot dead at point blank range after officers pinned him down amid claims he had a gun.
Shocking mobile phone showed footage showing two officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, wrestling Mr Sterling from behind and shoving his face into the concrete on Tuesday.
They attended the scene at 12.35am (6.35am BST) on Tuesday after an anonymous caller claimed a man was threatening someone with a gun outside a shop.
The two officers are seen pinning Mr Sterling down, before one suddenly shouts: "He's got a gun."
The other then pushes his gun into Mr Sterling's shoulder and yells: "Hey, bro, you f*****g move, I swear to God.”
One officer then appears to shoot him repeatedly in his chest and back.
Hundreds took to the streets chanting "black lives matter" and "no justice, no peace" in the hours after the shooting.
Horrifying Facebook Live footage shows aftermath of Philando Castile shooting
Just hours later shocking footage emerged of a woman live streaming the aftermath of her boyfriend's shooting on Facebook Live.
The disturbing footage from Indianapolis shows Lavish Reynolds in a car, with her boyfriend heavily bleeding and in agony.
A police officer, from the local force in Falcon Heights, Minneapolis - where the footage was taken on Wednesday - can be seen pointing his gun at Mr Castile, who is nursing a heavy wound in his arm.
The officer fired his weapon when he reached for his ID and wallet which the officer had requested.
She says: "And the officer just shot him in his arm."
Shouting, a police officer said "Ma'am, keep your hands where they are," before then adding: "F***!"
Reynolds tells her mobile phone camera "He just shot his arm off" but the officer then screams: "I told him not to reach for it! I told him to get his hand open."
Speaking calmly, the woman responds: "You told him to get his ID, sir, you told him to get his driver's license."
At that point, her boyfriend stops moving.
She says: "Oh god, don't tell me he's dead. Please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that... please don't tell me that he's gone.
"Please don't tell me this Lord, please Jesus don't tell me that he's gone.
"Please officer don't tell me that you just did this to him. You shot four bullets into him, sir."
'Nationwide shutdown' at Heathrow and Birmingham airports
Black Lives Matter protesters sparked traffic chaos for holidaymakers at the world's busiest airports as part of a 'nationwide shutdown'.
Dozens of BLMUK demonstrators were arrested after lying on the roads and holding banners which read "This is a crisis" outside Heathrow Airport, Birmingham Airport and the trams in Nottingham.
Pictures posted on Twitter showed protesters lying in a row across the road, with their arms locked together, while frustrated drivers could be remonstrating with activists.
The protests resulted in a number of arrests across the country after the group said it wanted to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of Mark Duggan, who was shot by police attempting to arrest him in Tottenham, north London, in August 2011, sparking nationwide riots.
The group called for "nationwide #shutdown" in a post on social media, and their Friday morning protests resulted in a number of arrests.
The activists said they had shut roads in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Nottingham to "mourn those who have died in custody and to protest the ongoing racist violence of the police, border enforcement, structural inequalities and the everyday indignity of street racism".
Scotland Yard said they had arrested 10 people - four were taken to custody while six people 'locked on' to each other were arrested at the scene.
Police were forced to close a lane of the motorway "to ensure the safety of protesters and officers".
West Midlands Police said four women and one man were arrested on suspicion of obstructing the highway and failing to comply with section 14 of the public order Act on the A45 in Solihull.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said screens erected at the scene of the protest were to prevent distraction for motorists.
Screens were also at the scene of the Heathrow incident, where video footage appeared to show a number of police officers moving the protesters while they continued to lie on the road.
The day of action comes just a day after the anniversary of Mr Duggan's death. An inquest jury decided that Mr Duggan was lawfully killed by a police marksman.
A video on the BLMUK Facebook page features a man saying there have been "1,562 deaths in police custody in my lifetime", adding that there have been zero convictions.
Another man says black people are "up to 37 times more likely" to be stopped and searched, while another says black people face "far more severe" sentencing than white people for the same offence.
BLMUK describes itself as a network of anti-racist activists from across the UK.
The group said: "We stand in solidarity with the families and friends of all who have died at the hands of the British state. We take action because justice has not been delivered through conventional means: the police, the IPCC, the courts or the legislature."
The campaigners said they aim to highlight "the struggle for black lives in the UK and #Shutdown state-sanctioned racialised sexism, Islamophobia, classism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia", adding: "We fight for liberation."