- Title: Bristol residents hail "fantastic" statue of BLM protester
- Date: 15th July 2020
- Summary: BRISTOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JULY 15, 2020) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF A STATUE OF BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTESTER JEN REID ON PLINTH WHERE THE STATUE OF 18TH CENTURY SLAVE TRADER, EDWARD COLSTON, ONCE STOOD VARIOUS OF PEOPLE PHOTOGRAPHING STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRISTOL RESIDENT, CATHERINE JORDAN, SAYING: "I hope Colston ends up in a museum and there's some reinterpretation of him. Maybe he could be put in chains or something like that. But yeah, I do think it's time, and this kind of statue is fantastic. That's the sort of thing we should be seeing in a city like Bristol - and other cities, too." STATUE AND PLINTH PLAQUE ON PLINTH WRITTEN FOR ORIGINAL COLSTON STATUE, READING (English): "ERECTED BY CITIZENS OF BRISTOL AS A MEMORIAL OF ONE OF THE MOST VIRTUOUS AND WISE SONS OF THEIR CITY. A.D. 1895." (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRISTOL RESIDENT, DAVID HAYES, SAYING: "Yeah, I think there is an element of poetic justice about it. Yeah, with Colston being pulled down and dragged to the dock, that was certainly poetic justice, I think. And so replacing it with a protester who stood on the plinth at the time, it's a very powerful image and it's been brilliantly done, I think. So, yeah, hopefully it might stay." VARIOUS OF STATUE PEOPLE STANDING BY STATUE PLACARD READING (English): "BLACK LIVES STILL MATTER" (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRISTOL RESIDENT, ANDY PINNER, SAYING: "I think it's incredible, it looks really authentic, as well. I mean, it looks like a piece of its time and also it's got the kind of authentic credentials to be a permanent statue. So whether it will be allowed to remain there, I'm not sure. I imagine the authorities would probably have to think about that because, I think there's always a danger that there'll be some kind of counter-reaction. There are certain factions that probably won't like it there and want to do something about it. That's my worry." STATUE PEOPLE STANDING BY STATUE (SOUNDBITE) (English) BRISTOL RESIDENT, DAVID HAYES, SAYING: "Yeah, I don't believe pulling down statues is erasing history. History still exists in the history books and in museums. These statues could go to museums, but, you know, times have changed. People have woken up, as you might say, or realised what these people might have done, as well as the good things they did, they did some very horrible things, and so I don't think they should be revered and celebrated with having a statue standing up in whatever city it is." VARIOUS OF STATUE ON PLINTH
- Embargoed: 29th July 2020 11:32
- Keywords: BLM Bristol Edward Colston Slave trade Slavery Statue UK activist Jen Reid
- Location: BRISTOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City: BRISTOL, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Race Relations / Ethnic Issues,Society/Social Issues,Editors' Choice
- Reuters ID: LVA001CMX8MDJ
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Bristol residents threw their support behind the sculpture of a Black protester that appeared on Wednesday (July 15) morning on the plinth that held the statue of a 17th Century English slave trader until it was toppled by anti-racism demonstrators last month.
The sculpture of activist Jen Reid, who was photographed standing on the plinth of Edward Colston's statue with her fist raised after it was toppled, was put up in the early hours by a team directed by artist Marc Quinn.
Local people interviewed by Reuters gave their backing to the new work, although one worried there could be a backlash from people opposed to the Black Lives Matter campaign.
The statue of Colston, who made a fortune from trading in West African slaves, was pulled down and thrown into Bristol harbour by anti-racism protesters demonstrating in the wake of the death of African-American George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
The death of Floyd led to protests for racial equality and police reforms across the United States and around the world.
The local authority plans to put Colston's statue on display in a Bristol museum's gallery showing the city's part in slave trading.
(Production: Ben Makori, Ben Dangerfield) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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