The statue has now been chucked in the riverCredit: SWNS:South West News Service
By Holly Christodoulou
The Sun newspaper
BLACK Lives Matter protesters have pulled down a statue of a 17th Century slave trader in Bristol. The controversial Edward Colston monument was ripped from its plinth using rope as crowds cheered. The protesters could then be seen jumping up and down on the toppled statue as it came crashing to the ground.
It has now been rolled into the river after being dragged towards the water by a group of jubilent protesters. Avon and Somerset Police superintendent Andy Bennett said tonight the force is hunting a small group of people “who clearly committed an act of criminal damage” after the statue was downed. Activists have gathered in Bristol as part of a largely peaceful worldwide Black Lives Matter protest against the death of George Floyd in the US.
The bronze figure of slave trader Colston has been in the city centre since 1895. But it has repeatedly come under attack by protesters – with pressure mounting on authorities to remove it. A signature this week calling for the statue to be removed in the wake of Floyd’s death received more than 11,000 signatures.
Slave ships owned by Colston in the 17th Century transported tens of thousands of people from Africa to the Americas. Thousands have gathered in Bristol for the nationwide protest – with an eight minute silence held to mark how long the police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck.
The rally in Bristol today comes as thousands of people descended on the US Embassy in London. Activists in face masks are holding placards reading “I can’t breathe” to echo the final words of Floyd after white police officer Derek Chauvin held him down by kneeling on his neck. Others have taken a kneel in solidarity with those of who have accused police of brutality on a global scale.
Source: The Sun newspaper