Since anti-racism protestors toppled the statue of Edward Colston in 2020, how to handle his controversial legacy has been a huge question for Bristol. The Bristol-born philanthropist and trans-Atlantic slave trader has attracted masses of criticism before and since his statue was pulled down, spray-painted, and tossed into Bristol Harbour by the Black Lives Matter movement on June 7, 2020.
The statue now lies (literally) on permanent display in Bristol at the M Shed within the museum’s Bristol People gallery, as part of a wider exhibit on Bristol’s history of protest. A selection of protest placards left by the empty plinth are also displayed around the statue. But what has happened to the plinth itself? Well, it’s remained empty until now.
In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protest, an extensive public consultation that discussed the future of the statue and its plinth received over 14,000 responses. The most popular option was to move the statue to a council museum (tick) and install a plaque on the plinth (now, tick).
Today (April 17), after receiving listed building consent from the Planning Committee last year, Bristol City Council have installed a new bronze plaque on the Colston statue plinth in the city centre. The plaque reads as follows:
On 13 November 1895, a statue of Edward Colston (1636-1721) was unveiled here.
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, the celebration of Colston was increasingly challenged given his prominent role in the enslavement of African people.
On 7 June 2020, the statue was pulled down during the Black Lives Matter protests and rolled into the Floating Harbour. Following consultation with the city in 2021, the statue entered the collections of Bristol City Council’s museums.
“I am pleased to see this plaque finally installed on the Colston plinth following a considered conversation on its future by residents and organisations,” said Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council. “It presents a moment of reflection for our city and for many communities across Bristol and offers residents and visitors the opportunity to learn more about our city’s complex past.”
To learn more about the historic context of both Edward Colston and Bristol’s role in the Transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans, we suggest heading to M-Shed.