EDWARD COLSTON’S TOPPLING PUTS STATUES UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
On 7 June, during a Black Lives Matter protest, the statue of Bristol-born slave trader Edward Colston (1636-1721) was pulled from its plinth in the city’s centre and dumped into Bristol Harbour, bringing Britain’s historic role in the transatlantic slave trade under scrutiny and prompting vigorous debates about the kinds of figures that are venerated through statues in public spaces.
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