Statue of slave trader toppled, dumped in river by UK protesters

Anti-racism protesters in England pulled down a famous statue of a 17th-century slave trader while demonstrating in solidarity with the US Black Lives Matter movement.

The protesters in Bristol, in southwest England, tied the bronze statue of Edward Colston with a rope before toppling it to cheers from the surrounding crowd. They went on to roll it into a local stream.

The statue of Edward Colston had been a focal point of local controversy for years, with many citizens, including a former Bristol MP calling for it to be taken down.

The statue till the toppling stood in Bristol’s city center since 1895. It had become increasingly controversial, with petitions demanding its removal.

The Museums of Bristol website describes Colston as a “revered philanthropist / reviled slave trader.”

It says he was born in the city in 1636, but spent his working life in London, becoming “an active member of the governing body of the RAC [Royal African Company], which traded in enslaved Africans, for 11 years.”

The Home Secretary and our Prime Minister should try and walk in the shoes of a black person in Bristol.

The lack of empathy shown by Priti Patel and Boris Johnson over the Edward Colston statue is breathtaking. pic.twitter.com/SLwK4RG7T4

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) June 8, 2020