A STATUE dedicated to one of Bristol’s most famous slave traders has been torn down following an anti-racism protest in the city.
Demonstrators organised a protest march in response to the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on May 25.
It came after largely peaceful demonstrations in central London yesterday (June 6) and across the UK.
The controversial bronze memorial of Colston had stood in Bristol city centre since 1895.
However, more than 10,000 people signed a petition calling on Bristol City Council to have it removed in recent weeks
After the statue fell to the ground, a protester posed with his knee on the statue’s neck – reminiscent of the video showing George Floyd, being restrained by a Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin.
The Colston statue was then dragged through the city’s streets and thrown into the river Avon. The empty plinth was then used as a stage for protesters to make speeches.
Slave ships
In the late 17th Century, slave ships owned by Colston are believed to have transported up to 80,000 people from Africa to the Americas.
He went on to become deputy governor of the Royal African Company, and was elected later as the Tory MP for Bristol.
Statues are about saying ‘this was a great man who did great things’. That is not true, he [Colston] was a slave trader and a murderer
Professor David Olusoga
Despite the statue being torn down Colston he still has a significant presence in the city – several buildings, schools and organisations are named after him.
‘Despicable’
Historian Professor David Olusoga told BBC News that the statue should have been taken down many years ago.
He said: “Statues are about saying ‘this was a great man who did great things’. That is not true, he [Colston] was a slave trader and a murderer.”
Local protestor John McAllister said: “It says ‘erected by the citizens of Bristol, as a memorial to one of the most virtuous and wise sons of this city’.
“The man was a slave trader. He was generous to Bristol but it was off the back of slavery and it’s absolutely despicable. It’s an insult to the people of Bristol.”
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What a momentous public event in Bristol; a city that implemented a “colour bar” which prevented Bristol’s African-skinned residents from working as Bus Drivers.
The brave African-skinned people of Bristol boycotted the buses for three months until the “colour-bar” was removed.
Now the caucasian people of Bristol have assisted with the removal of the statue of Bristol’s chief Slave Master, Edward Colston.