#Blacklivesmatter protesters in the Uk, tore down the statue of Edward colston, a slave trader who is feigned to be a philanthropist.
The protesters in Bristol tore down the controversial statue of the slave trader and rolled it into the River Avon, as thousands of people marched through the city in protest against police brutality following the death of George Floyd.
The moment a statue of slave trader Edward Colston toppled into Bristol’s harbour. ‘It’s what he deserves. I’ve been waiting all my life for this moment’ someone told me in the moments after. pic.twitter.com/6juqVrsJ6V
— Sarah Turnnidge (@sarah_turnnidge) June 7, 2020
The protesters tied a rope around the head of the statue, which had previously been covered in a black shroud for the march and pulling it to the ground.
It was then rolled from the city centre and dumped unceremoniously into Bristol’s harbor; almost exactly at the point where Edward Colston’s ships would have once left for West Africa.
Avon and Somerset Police superintendent Andy Bennett has since announced that the force has launched an investigation to identify a small group of people; “who clearly committed an act of criminal damage”.
Bristol’s history is tightly interwoven with the slave trade; and in the 18th century the city was one of the UK’s largest slave ports.
The point at which the statue was tipped into the water is directly next to Pero’s Bridge; which was was named in honour of Pero Jones who came to live in Bristol as a slave.
The legacy of Edward Colston has proved hugely divisive as while his money was derived largely from the slave trade; who used much of it to set up charitable foundations some of which survive to this day.
