BRISTOL U.K "EDWARD COLSTON HAD A GREAT FALL"
Colston's fall was on June 7th., but first please see this:
Statue of King George III in New York City. Toppled by members of George Washington's Army on July 9th 1776.
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Statue of Saddam Hussein, toppled by U.S. Marines in 2003
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Statue of Edward Colston, (1636-1721), toppled on 7th June 2020. My home City in International news.
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The U.K. into which I was born in 1944 was a nation of white skinned people. Most people had never seen a dark skinned person, except perhaps those who had seen American "Negro" troops (in a segregated Army) who were barracked near their cities (there were fights between black and white American soldiers who had visited pubs in Bristol).
There were no dark skinned pupils in my Infant ( ages 5-6) or Junior (ages 7-11) Schools in Bristol.
In my Grammar School, (High School in American terminology) for ages 12 - 18, there were but three dark skinned pupils out of about a six hundred and twenty total.
I remember a class discussion about racism. We were all against it. The one Pakistani student in the room, Ahmed Syed, was not asked about his experience.
I was in a U.K. which still rejoiced about the great British Empire (remember all that pink on world maps?).
We were told that it was the most gracious and munificent Empire that had ever been. Never a word about the cruelty and deeply ingrained racism which was the hallmark of that Empire.
In that context the statue of Edward Colston in the City Centre was part and parcel of British Imperial triumphalism.
Note that the statue was not erected until 1895 when British Imperialism was at its peak. Note too that the Statue described him as "one of the most virtuous and wise sons of Bristol" - a celebration of his generous endowments to the City, with never a word that his immense wealth was "earned" (stolen?) in the Slave Trade.
It was easy to ignore Colston's vile trade in an all white skinned Bristol.
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From 1948 - 1971 it was British policy to "import" the descendants of West Indian slaves to make up for a shortage of labour.
They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey. They found only menial jobs and poor housing. Their assigned role was to keep silent, be grateful, and stay out of the political world.
Some West Indians (mostly from Barbados) who were Anglicans found at least a cold shoulder, and at most outright prejudice in Church of England parishes.
It all began to change with the Bristol 'Bus Boycott of 1963 (about which most Bristolians are still ignorant).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott
As black and brown skinned Bristolians began to find their voices and enter the political sphere (the current elected Mayor of Bristol is of Jamaican and Welsh heritage) they (especially those of West Indian slave trade heritage and their allies) began to question why one of Bristol's most prominent monuments celebrated a man who made his fortune from the slave trade.
It's not that they wanted the monument removed; it's that they wanted the inscription to tell the whole truth about Colston's legacy.
There was no disagreement about the idea. But the Mayor, the City Council, and the Society of Merchant Venturers could not come to a common mind about the wording, "Nero fiddling as Rome burned?"
Then came COVID 19 which diverted the Mayor's attention; followed by the Bristol "Black Lives Matter" public witnesses.
It was in one of those witnesses (not protests) last Sunday that the Statue was toppled and cast into the Harbour.
For you see if Government and Civil authority are deaf to the public will, then the people must exercise that will. That is why we had an American revolution.
Some Statues (real or metaphorical) must be must be toppled for the common good.
Statue of King George III in New York City. Toppled by members of George Washington's Army on July 9th 1776.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Statue of Saddam Hussein, toppled by U.S. Marines in 2003
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Statue of Edward Colston, (1636-1721), toppled on 7th June 2020. My home City in International news.
---------------------------------------------------------------
The U.K. into which I was born in 1944 was a nation of white skinned people. Most people had never seen a dark skinned person, except perhaps those who had seen American "Negro" troops (in a segregated Army) who were barracked near their cities (there were fights between black and white American soldiers who had visited pubs in Bristol).
There were no dark skinned pupils in my Infant ( ages 5-6) or Junior (ages 7-11) Schools in Bristol.
In my Grammar School, (High School in American terminology) for ages 12 - 18, there were but three dark skinned pupils out of about a six hundred and twenty total.
I remember a class discussion about racism. We were all against it. The one Pakistani student in the room, Ahmed Syed, was not asked about his experience.
I was in a U.K. which still rejoiced about the great British Empire (remember all that pink on world maps?).
We were told that it was the most gracious and munificent Empire that had ever been. Never a word about the cruelty and deeply ingrained racism which was the hallmark of that Empire.
In that context the statue of Edward Colston in the City Centre was part and parcel of British Imperial triumphalism.
Note that the statue was not erected until 1895 when British Imperialism was at its peak. Note too that the Statue described him as "one of the most virtuous and wise sons of Bristol" - a celebration of his generous endowments to the City, with never a word that his immense wealth was "earned" (stolen?) in the Slave Trade.
It was easy to ignore Colston's vile trade in an all white skinned Bristol.
--------------------------------------------------
From 1948 - 1971 it was British policy to "import" the descendants of West Indian slaves to make up for a shortage of labour.
They were promised a land flowing with milk and honey. They found only menial jobs and poor housing. Their assigned role was to keep silent, be grateful, and stay out of the political world.
Some West Indians (mostly from Barbados) who were Anglicans found at least a cold shoulder, and at most outright prejudice in Church of England parishes.
It all began to change with the Bristol 'Bus Boycott of 1963 (about which most Bristolians are still ignorant).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Bus_Boycott
As black and brown skinned Bristolians began to find their voices and enter the political sphere (the current elected Mayor of Bristol is of Jamaican and Welsh heritage) they (especially those of West Indian slave trade heritage and their allies) began to question why one of Bristol's most prominent monuments celebrated a man who made his fortune from the slave trade.
It's not that they wanted the monument removed; it's that they wanted the inscription to tell the whole truth about Colston's legacy.
There was no disagreement about the idea. But the Mayor, the City Council, and the Society of Merchant Venturers could not come to a common mind about the wording, "Nero fiddling as Rome burned?"
Then came COVID 19 which diverted the Mayor's attention; followed by the Bristol "Black Lives Matter" public witnesses.
It was in one of those witnesses (not protests) last Sunday that the Statue was toppled and cast into the Harbour.
For you see if Government and Civil authority are deaf to the public will, then the people must exercise that will. That is why we had an American revolution.
Some Statues (real or metaphorical) must be must be toppled for the common good.
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