The Mayor of Bristol says the destruction of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston is an “renowned moment” and said he felt “no sense of loss” after it was torn down by Black Live Matter protesters.
Key points:
- Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, whose father was Jamaican, said the city should join after the protests
- He stated there was a “historical irony” to Colston’s statue winding up undersea thinking about the history of slaves being shaken off boats
- The UK’s Policing Minister is calling for individuals who tore the statue down to be prosecuted
Colston was part-owner of one of the largest organisations involved in the slave trade, the Royal African Company, however the base of the statue explained him as “one of the most virtuous and wise kids” of Bristol.
Require the statue’s elimination had actually grown louder over the last few years and it was taken down on Sunday (local time) by demonstrators who were taking part in the worldwide protest movement sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police
Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees, who is of Jamaican heritage, informed the BBC he might not pretend to “have a