Sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid removed from Colston plinth

Statue of slave trader Edward Colston was removed last month

Matt Mathers
Thursday 16 July 2020 09:25 BST
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'Illegal' sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester removed from Colston plinth

The sculpture of a Black Lives Matter protester which replaced the toppled statue of slave trader Edward Colston has been removed by authorities.

Workers removed the sculpture of activist Jen Reid early on Thursday morning, Bristol City Council said in a tweet. “It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection,” the council added.

Activists erected the resin statue of Ms Reid in Bristol city centre on Wednesday without permission from officials.

In response, mayor Marvin Rees said it was up to the people of Bristol to decide what replaces the state of Colston, a controversial figure in the port city because of his links to the slave trade.

“My relentless commitment is to build a city for all Bristolians, with all our differences,” Mr Rees added. “To this end, the future of the plinth and what is installed on it must be decided by the people of Bristol”.

The monument to Colston, a Tory MP and philanthropist who made part of his fortune from the Atlantic slave trade, was thrown into the city’s harbour last month – sparking a national conversation on Britain’s colonial history and the figures the country chooses to venerate.

It has since been removed from the harbour to be cleaned and placed in a museum.

The resin sculpture of Reid, designed by London-based artist Marc Quinn, was removed 24 hours after it had been put up.

Bristol mayor says people of the city must decide what replaces statue of Colston

Mr Quinn said he was inspired by the moment Reid stood atop the empty plinth on 7 June and raised her fist aloft in a black power salute.

Reid said in a statement that she had felt an “overwhelming impulse” to climb onto the plinth having attended a Black Lives Matter protest in the city.

Demonstrators pulled down the statue of Colston last month amid global protests at the killing of unarmed black man George Floyd at the knee of a white police officer.

Mr Floyd died when an officer held him down by pressing his knee into his neck for almost nine minutes in Minneapolis on 25 May.

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