A demonstrator holds up her fist in front of police officers during a protest organized by Black Lives Matter Belgium, in central Brussels. REUTERS/Yves Herman
OR IS SHE A MODEL TAKING A SELFIE USING THE RIOT SQUAD AS BACKGROUND
June 7 (UPI) -- Anti-racism protesters in Britain on Sunday torn down the statue of a 17th-century slave trader and threw it into the Bristol Harbor, authorities said.
Thousands of people took to the streets in the southwestern British city on Sunday to protest the police-involved death of George Floyd, a black American who was killed May 25 in Minneapolis while being arrested by a white police officer, when protesters yanked down the statue of Edward Colston that stood in the city center with ropes.
Video of the incident posted online shows demonstrators roll the bronze statue over a railing into the River Avon to cheers of the onlooking crowd.
Avon and Somerset Police said only a small minority "committed an act of criminal damage in pulling down a statue near Bristol Harborside.
"An investigation will be carried out to identify those involved and we're already collating footage of the incident," police superintendent Andy Bennett said in a statement.
Bennett said some 10,000 people attended the Black Lives Matter demonstration, the vast majority of whom peacefully and respectfully voiced "their concerns about racial inequality and injustice."
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees told Channel 4 News that as a politician he can't condone damage to the city but that he did not support the statue.
"What I cannot do as an elected politician is support criminal damage or social disorder like this but I would never pretend that the statue of a slaver in the middle of Bristol, the city in which I grew up, and someone who may well have owned one of my ancestors was anything other than a personal affront to me," he said.
Edward Colston is a controversial figure as he is known as both a philanthropist and a slave trader, according to the Museums of Bristol website.
The website states that he sat on the governing body of the Royal African Company, which dealt in slaves, for 11 years.
The statue of Colston was pulled down as a petition online with more than 11,000 signatures called for its removal.
Andrew Adonis, a politician with the British Labor Party, tweeted he hoped no legal action would be taken "against those who removed mass slave trader Edward Colston's statue."
"This should have happened decades ago," he said. "His name has been removed from other monuments in Bristol. No way should we be celebrating slave traders today."
Felling of slave trader statue prompts fresh look at British history
Estelle Shirbon
LONDON (Reuters) - The toppling by anti-racism protesters of a statue of a slave trader in the English port city of Bristol has given new urgency to a debate about how Britain should confront some of the darkest chapters of its history.
The statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading in West African slaves, was torn down and thrown into Bristol harbour on Sunday by a group of demonstrators taking part in a worldwide wave of protests.
Statues of figures from Britain’s imperialist past have in recent years become the subject of controversies between those who argue that such monuments merely reflect history and those who say they glorify racism.
By taking matters into their own hands, the protesters raised the temperature of a debate that had previously remained confined to the realms of marches, petitions and newspaper columns.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the removal of the statue was a criminal act.
“The PM fully understands the strength of feeling on this issue. But in this country where there is strong feeling, we have democratic processes which can resolve these matters,” the spokesman said.
Protesters tear down a statue of Edward Colston during a protest against racial inequality in Bristol, Britain June 7, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Mohiudin Malik/via REUTERS
But others countered that such processes had failed to recognise the pain caused by the legacy of slavery.
“People who say - authorities should take statues down after discussion. Yes. But it isn’t happening. Bristol’s been debating Edward Colston for years and wasn’t getting anywhere,” said historian and broadcaster Kate Williams on Twitter.
“PERSONAL AFFRONT”
A street and several buildings in the city are still named after Colston, and the plinth where the statue stood bears the original inscription from 1895, which praises Colston as “virtuous and wise”.
The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said he did not support social disorder, but the community was navigating complex issues that had no binary solutions.
“I would never pretend that the statue of a slaver in the middle of Bristol, the city in which I grew up, and someone who may well have owned one of my ancestors, was anything other than a personal affront to me,” said Rees, who has Jamaican roots.
Bristol police said they made a tactical decision not to intervene because that could have caused worse disorder.
“Whilst I am disappointed that people would damage one of our statues, I do understand why it’s happened, it’s very symbolic,” said police chief Andy Bennett.
Protesters throw the statue of Edward Colston into the water beside Pero's Bridge, during a protest against racial inequality in Bristol, Britain June 7, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Twitter/Sellottie /via REUTERS
Even Britain’s wartime hero, Winston Churchill, was under renewed scrutiny: a statue of him on Parliament Square in London was sprayed on Sunday with graffiti that read “Churchill was a racist”.
Churchill expressed racist and anti-Semitic views and critics blame him for denying food to India during the 1943 famine which killed more than two million people. Some Britons have long felt that the darker sides of his legacy should be given greater prominence.
These debates in Britain echo controversies in the United States, often focused on statues of confederate generals from the Civil War, and in South Africa, where Cape Town University removed a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes in 2015.
Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Nick Macfie
Felling of slave trader statue prompts fresh look at British history
Estelle Shirbon
LONDON (Reuters) - The toppling by anti-racism protesters of a statue of a slave trader in the English port city of Bristol has given new urgency to a debate about how Britain should confront some of the darkest chapters of its history.
The statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from trading in West African slaves, was torn down and thrown into Bristol harbour on Sunday by a group of demonstrators taking part in a worldwide wave of protests.
Statues of figures from Britain’s imperialist past have in recent years become the subject of controversies between those who argue that such monuments merely reflect history and those who say they glorify racism.
By taking matters into their own hands, the protesters raised the temperature of a debate that had previously remained confined to the realms of marches, petitions and newspaper columns.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the removal of the statue was a criminal act.
“The PM fully understands the strength of feeling on this issue. But in this country where there is strong feeling, we have democratic processes which can resolve these matters,” the spokesman said.
Protesters tear down a statue of Edward Colston during a protest against racial inequality in Bristol, Britain June 7, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Mohiudin Malik/via REUTERS
But others countered that such processes had failed to recognise the pain caused by the legacy of slavery.
“People who say - authorities should take statues down after discussion. Yes. But it isn’t happening. Bristol’s been debating Edward Colston for years and wasn’t getting anywhere,” said historian and broadcaster Kate Williams on Twitter.
“PERSONAL AFFRONT”
A street and several buildings in the city are still named after Colston, and the plinth where the statue stood bears the original inscription from 1895, which praises Colston as “virtuous and wise”.
The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said he did not support social disorder, but the community was navigating complex issues that had no binary solutions.
“I would never pretend that the statue of a slaver in the middle of Bristol, the city in which I grew up, and someone who may well have owned one of my ancestors, was anything other than a personal affront to me,” said Rees, who has Jamaican roots.
Bristol police said they made a tactical decision not to intervene because that could have caused worse disorder.
“Whilst I am disappointed that people would damage one of our statues, I do understand why it’s happened, it’s very symbolic,” said police chief Andy Bennett.
Protesters throw the statue of Edward Colston into the water beside Pero's Bridge, during a protest against racial inequality in Bristol, Britain June 7, 2020 in this screen grab obtained from a social media video. Twitter/Sellottie /via REUTERS
Even Britain’s wartime hero, Winston Churchill, was under renewed scrutiny: a statue of him on Parliament Square in London was sprayed on Sunday with graffiti that read “Churchill was a racist”.
Churchill expressed racist and anti-Semitic views and critics blame him for denying food to India during the 1943 famine which killed more than two million people. Some Britons have long felt that the darker sides of his legacy should be given greater prominence.
These debates in Britain echo controversies in the United States, often focused on statues of confederate generals from the Civil War, and in South Africa, where Cape Town University removed a statue of British colonialist Cecil Rhodes in 2015.
Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Nick Macfie
