‘DESPICABLE’

British Protesters Tear Down Slave Trader Statue in Bristol

The statue had been subject to complaints in recent years calling for its removal.

A statue memorializing British slave trader Edward Colston has been pulled down by Black Lives Matter protesters in Bristol, England Sunday. Protesters then pushed the statue into the harbor. The statue had stood in Bristol since 1895 in recognition of Colston’s large financial donations to the city. Activists have pressured officials in recent years to remove the statue because of Colston’s role in the Royal African Company, a trading company which engaged in trading slaves during the 17th century.

Police are working to identify the protesters who removed the statue. About 10,000 demonstrators attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol Sunday. “The man was a slave trader,” said John McAllister, a protester who attended the demonstration in Bristol. “He was generous to Bristol but it was off the back of slavery and it’s absolutely despicable. It’s an insult to the people of Bristol.”