Rak-Su reveal they were subjected to vile racist abuse and say ‘a lot has to change’

Rak-Su have revealed they have experienced racism in the past, including an incident where they were chased in a car by men trying to ‘run [them] over’.

The X Factor winners, made up of Myles Stephenson, 28, Ashley Fongo, 27, Jamaal Shurland, 28, and Mustafa Rahimtulla, 29, told how they have also been subjected to racist comments on social media. 

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, Rak-Su hope to raise awareness of racism following the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for eight minutes in Minneapolis on May 25.  

Myles said: ‘We’ve experienced racism in the past. We were chased as teenagers by men in cars in Watford. They were trying to run us over. 

‘I’ve also had racism directed at me online.’

Floyd’s death sparked protests and demonstrations in Minneapolis and across the US while all four police officers involved in his arrest have been fired.

Derek Chauvin, the officer who knelt on his neck, was arrested for third degree murder with his bail set at $500,000 (£405,071). 

Speaking about police brutality and discrimination against unarmed black men in the US, Myles said he hoped the group’s British accents would protect them from discrimination from police in America.

He said: ‘I’d like to think when we go to America our English accents would make these police officers question what they do before they act.’

Bandmate Ashley added: ‘A lot has got to change and we want to do whatever we can to raise awareness.’

Riots spiralled out of control on Saturday night as cop cars were torched, stores were looted.

On Sunday, cop cars were torched, stores were looted and at least 11 states activated the National Guard on a fifth night of protests that show no signs of stopping. 

Meanwhile, at least 25 cities roll out emergency curfews to try to bring rioting and looting under control, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Louisville, Los Angeles, Portland, Columbia, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Seattle.

President Donald Trump has put the Army on notice to deploy to the streets with a four-hour notice – the first time this will have been done in almost 20 years during the 1992 LA riots over the beating of black man Rodney King by cops.

Police in New York City sparked outrage on Sunday when a video appeared to show an SUV being driven by police plow into a group of protesters in Brooklyn.