Why the toppled statue of slave trader Edward Colston is going on public display in England

A statue of colonial slave trader Edward Colston has gone on public display in Bristol, England, almost a year after it was toppled during Black Lives Matter demonstrations in the city.

On June 7 last year, demonstrators denouncing historic and systemic racism and oppression defaced the controversial monument with red and blue graffiti. They used ropes to tear down it down from its plinth before rolling it through the streets and dumping it into the River Avon.

Days later, the bronze statue was recovered from the riverbed by Bristol City Council and put into storage.

The statue — which for many was a symbol of Britain’s colonial legacy — is now displayed at the M Shed museum, alongside placards from the protest and a timeline of events. The figure is lying down on its back, on a specially crafted wooden structure.

According to museum authorities, the new, temporary display is intended to “start a conversation about its (the statue’s) future.”

The M Shed website reads: “This is an opportunity to have your say about how we move forward together.”

Colston, born to a wealthy merchant family in Bristol, rose to prominence through his role in the Royal African Company (RAC) during the Atlantic slave trade. He helped facilitate the transportation of tens of thousands of people from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean, mainly to work the sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Virginia. The company branded the people it transported as slaves — including children — with its RAC initials on their chests. The presence of the statue in Bristol, as well as streets and buildings dedicated to Colston, has long been a source of contention.

After it was pulled down, Colston’s effigy — which had stood in the city since 1895 — was briefly replaced with a life-sized sculpture created by British artist Marc Quinn. His statue depicted a black woman with her fist raised in a Black Power salute.

At the time, Quinn said in a press statement that he was “committed to reflecting what I see, including inequalities and injustices. Prejudice, such as racism, is part of that.

“Keeping the issue of Black people’s lives and experiences in the public eye and doing whatever I can to help is so important.”

As the artist did not receive permission from authorities to erect the statue, it was removed by Bristol City Council the following day.

The question of how to deal with historical monuments depicting colonial figures such as slave traders has been a subject of debate in many countries in recent years, with calls for their removal intensifying amid global protests over the death of George Floyd last year.

In the US, a string of Confederate statues have been removed by authorities because of links to the slave trade.