Additional 21C plaques for Statue of Colston

There should be a competion for wording for new plaques to be added to the statue of Colston - (my own submission would be " A man of his time, but not of ours" followed by the opening sentences and Article 4 of the Declaration of Huna Rights).

Colston is depicted as thoughtful (remorseful?), rather than triumphalist, and there is space below the existing plaques to clearly demonstrate how we have moved on. 

Why the contribution is important

Because the Slave Trade episode in Bristol's history still provokes strong feelings - (see Bristol Post mid Nov 2013), and the statue is still seen as provocactive. Taking it down would be wrong - Colston is was a city benefactor of his time, and unfortunately the profits from the Slave Trade are part of the City's history - However we judge him differently now, and we could make this clear.

by user707215 on November 30, 2013 at 12:30PM

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Comments

  • Posted by user412750 December 19, 2013 at 22:00

    I think this is a balanced approach to a controversial situation. I like it, and particularly like the wording you have suggested.

    We don't deal with history / legacy by pretending it didn't exist. We acknowledge it, and show that we are different today. This solution shows that in fact we have triumphed, because our attitudes today are more enlightened.
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