Edward Colston’s in the Harbour Now
Bristol has a contentious relationship with Edward Colton’s legacy; this is because he used the slave trade to build his fortune. In 1680, he became a member of the Royal African Company, which had a monopoly on slavery. By 1889, he was deputy governor, as he amassed wealth through human suffering. As recent events would have it, protestors in Bristol have torn down his statue, paraded it around the streets, and tossed it into Bristol Harbour. What a cathartic ending for a man who profited from the subjugation of human life.
The recent protests have been marked by the murder of George Floyd, as more and more people are engaging with activism in support of the black community. Colston’s statue has been replaced with messages of support, but this is not the first time people have called for action about his memory. In 1999, Prof Mage Dresser spoke about the negative implications of Colston’s commemoration;
“I would like all those institutions that played a role in this business of transatlantic inhumanity to provide public exhibitions of their involvement and a monument to those who suffered in their institution.”
The words ‘slave trader’ were written across Colston’s statue the day after Dresser’s remarks. For a while now, people have been weary of slave traders’ histories being hidden, and their role in benefitting from “transatlantic inhumanity’’ ignored in favor of their charitable causes. After all, there are theatres and streets named after Coltson; thus, the protesters’ repudiation of his monument of oppression will draw attention to other areas named after him. Even so, there are detractors of the protestor’s actions. For example, the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, deemed the statue’s removal a “criminal act”. Bristol City Council member Mark Weston, who is the leader of the conservative group, has said that “perpetrators should be prosecuted for a wanton act of criminal damage”. There is also the long-held belief that the statue’s removal is overdue.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/08/world/europe/edward-colston-statue-britain-racism.html
As this article is written before it is released, I am late on commentary. Although I must contribute some perspective, or lack thereof, about the protests pushing against racial inequality. The story about Colston’s statue, and the responses of those in government have caused me to re-calibrate my understanding of the protests; in this respect, criminalizing civil action does not contribute to the plight of racism, or address the profound reasons why the statue was torn from its pedestal. At the same time, tearing down a public monument is an act of violence, if only to mark the violence slave traders inflicted upon enslaved individuals and their rights. There are oppressors and the oppressed, so it must be frightful for some that those who are marginalized and their allies are protesting. The history of black civil rights is deep, as is the ugly truth of racism; black people have spoken out against racism and slavery for centuries, and many have advocated on their behalf. It is invigorating that there are many people willing to partake in this cause today. I understand that before highly publicized events, that racism has killed black people, and that many have fought to end it. I find it discouraging that acts of violence against black people are so pivotal in igniting that spark.
There is no simple solution to racism itself, and discussions must be held to begin unravelling the social inequalities embedded in our society. I am not a black person, so I cannot speak for that community. As a Chinese American woman, I am sensitive to racial issues, and to the intersectionality of being a woman of color. I am also educating myself, and this is a process that is all-encompassing. I might not know the kinds of oppression that black women and men face, because I am situated differently in society. Confronting the truth of slavery, and public figures’ wealth from inhumanity is an important prospect. I can only hope that we remember and retell why Colston’s statue is at the bottom of Bristol Harbour. I would also encourage others not to dehumanize those who do protest and act in support of the black community; after all, criminalizing challenges to the power hierarchy, and to the collective memory of a slave trader is at the root of the social inequality that is being rightfully repudiated.
