Republished from The Canary
Protesters in Bristol have pulled down the controversial statue of a 17th Century slave trader.
The bronze memorial to Edward Colston situated in Bristol city centre since 1895, was torn down after crowds left College Green.
It had been the subject of an 11,000-strong petition to have it removed.
Images showed crowds rushing to stamp on the statue, which stood in Colston Avenue, before it was rolled along the road and pushed into the harbour.
Earlier, protester John McAllister, 71, tore down black bin bags used to hide the statue to denounce it in front of fellow protesters.
He told the PA news agency: “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.”
Many people welcomed its removal:
This just made me cry proper tears of relief and joy and validation.
That fucking statue. Every time we asked for it to go, the white supremacists for their way. And now, taken matters into our own hands.
Well done #BlackLivesMatterUK ✊🏾❤️ https://t.co/7LPXWQ0B8i
— Kerry-Anne Mendoza (@TheMendozaWoman) June 7, 2020
well done bristol https://t.co/3wuqK31BMJ
— Nish Kumar (@MrNishKumar) June 7, 2020
My name is Liam Rosenior (slave name).
I lived in Bristol as child.
I attended COLSTONS (slave owner and killer) primary school in order to receive my “education”.
Pardon me for enjoying this moment of irony.#BlackLivesMatterUK #BlackLivesMattters https://t.co/zX9dlzJQez— Liam Rosenior (@rosenior_liam23) June 7, 2020
