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Rich UK MP Must Pay For Familys’ SLAVE Trade Past
BLM-Bristol UK Protesters Topple Statue of Worlds Biggest Slave Trader Edward Colston. (Pictures Below of His Slave Caves in Bristol)...
Protesters pulled down the bronze figure of the 17th century slave trader and dumped it in the floating harbour as 7 June Black Lives Matter demonstration took place.
Statue that had long been a focal point of local anger rolled down to harbour and pushed into the water
Bristol LIVE / The Guardian UK, 8 JUN 2020
Black Lives Matters protesters in Bristol have pulled down a statue of the slave trader Edward Colston.
Demonstrators attached a rope to the Grade II-listed statue on Colston Avenue on Sunday before pulling it to the ground as crowds cheered. They then jumped on it and rolled it down the street before pushing it into Bristol Harbour.
The historian David Olusoga compared the action to the toppling of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
However, the home secretary, Priti Patel, urged the police to respond. She told Sky News: “I think that is utterly disgraceful and that speaks to the acts of public disorder that have actually now become a distraction from the cause in which people are protesting about.”....  ....
Supt Andy Bennett, of Somerset and Avon police, said his force was carrying out an investigation into criminal damage.
However, Bennett told the BBC he understood that Colston was “a historical figure that’s caused the black community quite a lot of angst over the last couple of years”, adding: “Whilst I am disappointed that people would damage one of our statues, I do understand why it’s happened, it’s very symbolic.
“You might wonder why we didn’t intervene and why we just allowed people to put it in the docks – we made a very tactical decision, to stop people from doing the act may have caused further disorder and we decided the safest thing to do, in terms of our policing tactics, was to allow it to take place.”
The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, said: “I know the removal of the Colston Statue will divide opinion, as the statue itself has done for many years. However, it’s important to listen to those who found the statue to represent an affront to humanity.”
The bronze statue, erected in 1895, has long been a focal point for anger at the city’s role in the slave trade and the continued commemoration of those who were involved in it.
A petition to remove it had garnered more than 11,000 signatures. It said: “Whilst history shouldn’t be forgotten, these people who benefited from the enslavement of individuals do not deserve the honour of a statue. This should be reserved for those who bring about positive change and who fight for peace, equality and social unity.”
Colston’s company transported more than 100,000 slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean and the Americas between 1672 and 1689, cramming them into ships to maximise profit.
NB: Colston’s ships stopped at Bristol docks for cleaning and replenishment of water and supplies. Before they reached the docks the slaves were offloaded into caves alongside the Bristol canal.
Many years ago I crawled down an access way from Clifton Suspension Bridge to look into the caves and the entrance from the River Avon. It was horrific. Both entrances are now closed off to the public.
An 1878 drawing of the Clifton Suspension Bridge
Redcliffe's hidden caves
Hidden behind a small door in the banks of the harbour are the Redcliffe Caves. They consist of series of man made tunnels built in the Middle Ages.
But to this day the mines are shrouded in mystery.
Rumours persist that around this time the Redcliffe Caves were used to keep slaves chained to walls...
The slaves, including women and children, were branded on the chest with the company’s initials, RAC. Unhygienic conditions, dehydration, dysentery and scurvy killed more than 20,000 during the crossings and their bodies were thrown overboard.
The Bristol West MP, Thangam Debbonaire, now the shadow housing secretary, joined calls for the statute to be taken down in 2018. She said the city “should not be honouring people who benefited from slavery”.
Colston gave great sums of money to Bristol, but it was earned from slavery. Debbonaire said: “Having statues of people who oppressed us is not a good thing to be saying to black people in this city.”
Action has been taken to erase Colston’s name from other parts of the city. Colston Hall, Bristol’s largest concert hall, announced plans to change its name in 2017, and Bristol city council determined in January 2018 that a second plaque should be placed on Colston’s statue highlighting his role in the slave trade but wrangling over the wording delayed it. A portrait of Colston was removed from the lord mayor’s office later the same year.
Opposition to the Colston statue grew at around the same time as the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, which called for the statue of Cecil Rhodes, an ardent imperialist, to be removed from Oriel College, Oxford. The college refused to accede to the demands.
The toppling of the statue follows the pulling down of several Confederate statues during Black Lives Matter protests in the US.
Explaining the reason for the Grade II listing, Historic England says: “The statue is of particular historical interest, the subject being Edward Colston, Bristol’s most famous philanthropist, now also noted for his involvement in the slave trade.”
Ice Cube's Passionate Response After Edward Colston Statue Pulled Down in Bristol UK
Former N.W.A. member Ice Cube responded after Owen Jones tweeted about Black Lives Matter protesters dumping the statue of Edward Colston
US rapper Ice Cube posted an impassioned tweet in response to protesters' toppling of the Edward Colston statue in Bristol city centre.
O'Shea Jackson, better known as Ice Cube, tweeted to his 5.2 million followers: "THEY WILL ALL FALL."
The former N.W.A. member, who has been a major voice in the Black Lives Matter movement, shared a tweet from journalist Owen Jones.
Mr Jones tweeted: "Edward Colston was a leading figure in the transportation of an estimated 84,000 Africans, including children, as slaves. 19,000 died on the journey from West Africa
to the Caribbean and the Americas.
Edward Colston Statue: Society of Merchant Venturers Respond
The society was heavily involved with the slave trade and put the statue up in 1895
Bristol's Society of Merchant Venturers has said it will 'continue to educate itself about systemic racism' and will 'never forget the 12 million enslaved human beings', after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was pulled down in the city.
The society, which has existed formally since 1552, controlled Bristol's merchant trade and was heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade throughout the 17th, 18th and into the 19th centuries.
Merchants were behind the erection of the statue of Edward Colston in The Centre in Bristol in 1895, and the society continues to run a large number of schools, including two named after him, in Bristol today.
Edward Colston Statue: Mayor Gives Update on Statue's Future
Bristol's Mayor has confirmed a statue of Edward Colston which was toppled during a Black Lives Matter protest and thrown into the Harbour will eventually be retrieved - but it is not the council's priority right now.
Speaking live on BBC Radio Bristol, Marvin Rees said he does not support criminal damage and warned about the dangers of mass gatherings, a sentiment he also reflected yesterday (June 7).
He said it is "highly likely" the statue will end up in a museum.
Speaking about whether the statue had been taken out of the Harbour yet, Mr Rees said: "It's still underwater, at some point it will be fished out... we will obviously take the statue out.
The 20 Other Things in Bristol Which Commemorate WORLD Slave Trader Edward Colston
The statue is by no means the only thing which is named after him or celebrates him...
The toppling and subsequent dunking of the statue of Edward Colston in Bristol's floating harbour on Sunday has opened up the history of the slave trader and Bristol's role in the slave trade to the world.
Many commentators from across the globe expressed surprise a statue of a man responsible for opening up the industrial-scale slave trade to Bristol, and whose own ships transported tens of thousands of people in chains from West Africa to the Americas.
But the statue was just the most obvious. The following list was originally published in 2016 and counted 20 other buildings, schools, businesses, windows, tower blocks and pubs that were named in honour of Edward Colston.
Here it is updated, and the updating tells the story of how Bristol has begun to slowly, painstakingly and gradually move away from the Colston name.
1. Colston's School
Bell Hill, Stapleton, BS16
One of the few things in Bristol with a direct link to Colston himself, as opposed to things which were named after him long after his death.
Colston School was founded by Edward Colston in 1710. He was an old man by then, in his 70s, and had made his fortune running the Royal Africa Company in London and then bringing the slave trade to Bristol in later decades.
He tried to donate the money to open a school for boys in Bristol some seven or eight years earlier, but it didn't get the backing needed locally because he insisted only children whose parents were strict Anglicans could attend. He didn't want any of his money to be spent on educating the children of Dissenters, and in Bristol, with Quakerism and other strands of Christianity strong, that wasn't supported.
In the end, he persuaded the Society of Merchant Venturers to take on the school he founded, and they do to this day. It's an independent private school which costs up to £13,185 a year to attend.
Who could rename it? The Society of Merchant Venturers/school governors.
2. Colston Street
Soundwell BS16
No, not the one in the city centre where the Colston Hall is, but a fairly unremarkable road out in the east of the city. This Colston Street runs from opposite the Turnpike pub on the main Soundwell Road into the streets of post-war council housing on the western side of the main road into the Hillfields area.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
3. Colston Yard pub - now changed
Colston Street BS1
(Image: James Beck)
The pub is named after the back alley street which runs behind it, and was only renamed in the middle of the 2010s. For years, this pub was named the Brewery Tap, owned by the Smiles Brewery, and then Butcombe Brewery had it and it was called The Yard.
It underwent major refurbishment in 2015 by new owners Rozi Hempstead and Jack Werner, who formed the Distinctly Cape Pubs Ltd company, and was soon named the Bristol Post's pub of the week and got the Mark Taylor seal of approval.
In November 2017, the pub changed its name, from the Colston Yard to the Bristol Yard.
4. Colston's Almshouses
St Michael's Hill, BS2
Another building with a direct link to Colston. Edward Colston paid for them to be built for the poor in 1691 and 12 people or families lived in them, and were expected to attend chapel twice a day. Built in 1691, in Colston's first few years of returning to Bristol, they are a designated Grade I listed building.
They are now still operating as homes - 12 one-bed flats which were refurbished in 1998. The trustee for the almshouses is the Society of Merchant Venturers.
Who could rename it? Society of Merchant Venturers
5. Colston Hill
Stapleton BS16
A narrow road which separates Holy Trinity Church, Stapleton with Colston's School itself. The road is a picturesque back lane of homes which narrows to become a footpath down to the River Frome.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
6. Colston's Primary School - now changed
Cotham Grove BS6
(Image: Jon Kent)
A state primary school which is now an academy managed by the Co-operative Society. The school's latest Ofsted report said all aspects of the school were good, apart from the leadership and management, which is outstanding.
The Co-operative ethos means parents, teachers and local residents can get involved in the running of the school, as long as they sign up to the Co-op movement's values of fairness, equality and self-help.
After the debate over renaming the Colston Hall, the school's governors, parents, staff and children embarked on a long-running project to have a discussion about the name. They concluded they would change it, and in September 2018, it opened for the new school year as Cotham Gardens Primary School.
7. Colston Street
City Centre BS1
The hill which runs from St Augustine's Parade in The Centre to Upper Maudlin Street by the BRI. Gives its name to Colston Yard, the Colston Hall and the Colston Tower. So much so this area of town - in the absence of another more obvious name - could well be known as 'Colston' itself.
It was originally called Steep Street, but was renamed by the Victorian city leaders in honour of Edward Colston.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
8. Colston Road Easton BS5
Residential street in the Chelsea Road area of Easton which is at the heart of the gentrification of this bit of inner-city Bristol. An ordinary road of turn of the 20th century terrace homes which runs east towards Whitehall.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
9. Colston Consulting
Portwall, Redcluffe
Recruitment firm that in 2016 was based in the second tallest building in the city, Castlemead. The firm has more than 40 years' combined experience in recruitment and specialises in high-end data management, technology and developer roles.
Who could rename it? Colston Consulting.
10. Colston Yard
off Colston Street BS1
Dead-end back alley which runs from the top of Colston Street between and underneath two shops. Another back alley that runs down the hill towards the city centre was recently named Johnny Ball Lane after the TV presenter.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
11. Colston Arms
St Michael's Hill, Kingsdown BS2
(Image: James Beck)
Small pub on the steep St Michael's Hill which is a regular haunt for students and staff from the nearby hospitals. Has a regular pub quiz which includes a round where those taking part make models out of Play-Doh.
Who could rename it? The landlord.
12. Colston's Girls' School
Cheltenham Road, Montpelier BS6
(Image: South West News Service)
Opened by the Society of Merchant Venturers in 1891, it shares Edward Colston's family motto of 'Go and do thou likewise' with The Colston's School. For more than a century it was a fee paying girls' school - the female equivalent of the boy's school over in Stapleton, but in 2008 it converted to a state-funded academy school.
That increased the number of girls from ethnic minority backgrounds and now it is one of the city's highest-achieving secondary schools, and the school with the most demand for places in Year 7. The Society of Merchant Venturers still have a controlling majority on the Academy Trust.
"We recognise that Edward Colston is a divisive figure in Bristol and that we have a role to play in the passionate debate about the use of his name across the city," said a school spokesperson on Monday, June 8.
"This is an ongoing discussion that we are very much part of, with one immediate action being the removal of the statue of Colston from the reception area of Colston’s Girls’ School," she added.
Who could rename it? The Society of Merchant Venturers/ school governors/ trustees
13. Colston Parade
Redcliffe BS1
A narrow street of traditional Georgian houses which is bordered on one side by the church yard of St Mary Redcliffe Church.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
14. Colston Tower
The Centre BS1
The most prominent building in the area known as The Centre of Bristol, it was built in 1973 and is becoming regarded as a classic of brutalist modern architecture. The 18 floors and 63m height make it the sixth tallest building in Bristol, but it towers over the open space of The Centre and houses a number of different major businesses, including banks and insurance firms.
It has changed hands a number of times in the 21st century, most recently in 2014 when London-based Resolution Property bought it for £12 million. The clock was added in 1995 and sits next to the name 'Colston Tower' which is illuminated in red every night.
Who could rename it? Resolution Property
15. Colston Avenue
The Centre BS1
The Centre area of Bristol is effectively two different roads which run either side of what used to be a water-filled dock which went all the way up to what is now Electricity House. But the roads are called different things in different places. Both sides of The Centre around Colston's Statue and the Cenotaph are officially Colston Avenue, a road which continues on the western, northbound side towards Lewins Mead, while the other side of the road is still Rupert Street.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
16. Colston's Lower School
Park Road, Stapleton BS16
Part of The Colston's School, the Lower School is based in an adjacent site a bit further up Park Road in Stapleton.
Who could rename it? Society of Merchant Venturers / school governors
17. Colston Hall and Colston Street Bar & Kitchen - to be renamed
Colston Street, BS1
Bristol's premier concert hall and its associated bar and kitchen restaurant.
When the Colston Hall reopens following its £50million refurbishment next year, the entire concert hall will be renamed, although its new name is yet to be announced.
On Monday, June 8, a spokesperson for the Colston Hall said: "We announced three years ago that we would be changing the name as part of the transformation of the Hall, which is currently closed whilst the redevelopment work is taking place. The Hall was built 150 years after Colston died and was not founded with any of his money.
"The current name does not reflect our values as a progressive, forward-thinking and open arts organisation – we want it to be representative of the city, a beacon of its values of hope, diversity and inclusion.
Who is going to rename it? Bristol Music Trust
18. Colston Window
Bristol Cathedral BS1
(Image: SWNS)
The stained glass window commemorates Edward Colston in Bristol Cathedral, and is now the subject of consideration by church leaders. It's the biggest window in the cathedral.
Who could remove it? The Diocese of Bristol
19. Colston Dale
Stapleton BS16
Across the River Frome from Colston's School is a post-war council development around Trendlewood Park, just south of the old Blackberry Hill Hospital. One of the side roads off Trendlewood Park is called Colston Dale.
Who could rename it? Bristol City Council
20. Colston House - renamed
St Mary Redcliffe & Temple School, Redcliffe
(Image: BristolLive)
For decades St Mary Redcliffe School divided its pupils into houses, and one of them was called 'Colston'.
But in February 2019, the school announced it was scrapping all of the names, and had come up with new names. Colston was being replaced by Johnson, after Katherine Johnson, the African-American mathematician, who did the calculations that enabled the Apollo moon landings.
END.
NOTE:
Sensible, informative and respectful comments are welcome.
Offensive and derogatory comments ARE NOT..and will be removed & any member who posts them WILL BE BANNED...
Ireland > a country from which the English enslaved & starved Irish people centuries ago
The Irish suffered greatly.. So I empathise with black people.
The Black people continue to suffer in many ways, in many countries..
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