George Floyd: British Protesters Tear Down Slave Trader’s Statue

Cat:

Related stories

Alleged N6.9Billion Fraud: Drama as Ex-Governor Fayose Wins in Court

• Court Dismisses EFCC’s Money Laundering Charges By Abiola Olawale The...

Natasha vs Akpabio: Senate President Heads to Court, Challenges Court Order to Reinstate Senator

By Abiola Olawale President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio...

Nigeria Surpasses OPEC’s 1.5 Million Barrel Oil Quota in June 2025

By Abiola Olawale In a major achievement for Africa’s largest...

British protesters tore down the statue of a renowned slave trader and threw it in the harbour on the second day of weekend protests against George Floyd’s death.

Footage shot by a witness showed a few dozen people tie a rope around the neck of Edward Colston’s statue and bring it to the ground in the southwestern city of Bristol.

They then stamped on it for a few minutes before carrying it and shoving it into the harbour with a great cheer.

Colston’s face got splashed with red paint at one point.

“Today I witness history,” eye witness William Want tweeted.

“The statue of Edward Colston, a Bristol slave trader, was torn down, defaced, and thrown in the river. #BlackLivesMatter.”

But Home Secretary Priti Patel called the toppling “utterly disgraceful” and police in the city promised to carry out an investigation.

“That speaks to the acts of public disorder that actually have now become a distraction from the cause which the people are actually protesting about,” Patel told Sky News.

“That is a completely unacceptable act and speaks to the vandalism, again, as we saw yesterday in London.”

The London police reported making 29 arrests during a day of largely peaceful protests Saturday that included a few scuffles with the police.

Local police chief Andy Bennett said around 10,000 people attended Bristol’s “Black Lives Matter” demonstration on Sunday.

“The vast majority of those who came to voice their concerns about racial inequality and injustice did so peacefully and respectfully,” he said.

“However, there was a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage in pulling down a statue near Bristol Harbourside.”

Colston grew up in a wealthy merchant family and joined a company in 1680 that had a monopoly on the west African slave trade.

The Royal African Company was formally headed by the brother of King Charles II who later took the throne as James II.

The company was transporting about 5,000 slaves a year to the Caribbean by the time Colston joined.

He later developed a reputation as a philanthropist who donated to charitable causes such as schools and hospitals in Bristol and London.

His statue stood on Bristol’s Colston’s Avenue. The city also has a school named in his honour.

UK opposition Labour party lawmaker Clive Lewis welcomed the statue’s removal by the crowd.

“Good,” Lewis tweeted.

“Someone responsible for immeasurable blood & suffering. We’ll never solve structural racism till we get to grips with our history in all its complexity. #BLM”

AFP

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Ogun PDP Knocks Dapo Abiodun, Backs Striking Workers: "Strike Action is lawful, a response to Abuse"Alleged N6.9Billion Fraud: Drama as Ex-Governor Fayose Wins in CourtOluwo Commends Awujale's Burial, Says Late Monarchs Shouldn't Be "Butchered Like Animals"Natasha vs Akpabio: Senate President Heads to Court, Challenges Court Order to Reinstate SenatorNigeria Surpasses OPEC’s 1.5 Million Barrel Oil Quota in June 2025"Nigeria's challenges not about the constitution, but its operators", says ObasanjoElderstatesman, Emeka Anyaoku, Speaks Again , Urges Nigeria to Adopt a "People’s Democratic Constitution"Breaking! Atiku Abubakar Quits PDP, Signals Major Political Shift Ahead of 2027 ElectionsNational Grid Crisis: Six Universities, MTN, NDA, 16 Others Exit Grid, Resort to Own Power GenerationAs the US, UAE Close its Doors, FG Pledges Diplomatic ResolutionWhat NATO Countries Spend on Military, Health, and EducationNigeria: Flying Blind In The Global SpaceIs the world shutting its door on Nigeria?, By Dakuku Peterside[VIDEO] End of an Era!Tears as Buhari is Laid to Rest in DauraEnd of an Era: Massive Security Presence in Katsina as Nigerians Prepare for Buhari’s Farewell
X whatsapp