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Virtual support rally held for Colston 4
An online rally was held on Monday morning ahead of the first court appearance of the four people charged with criminal damage to Edward Colston’s statue.
The support rally, which was held virtually in line with current lockdown rules, heard from Black Community Rising, Dr Shawn Sobers, All Black Lives Bristol, Speaking Statues and Countering Colston.
An eight-minute silence was held to remember the 84,500 people who were kidnapped and enslaved by or on behalf of Colston during his time with the Royal Africa Company.
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“Today, we remember their suffering, but we also honour their strength,” said Xahra of All Black Lives Bristol.
“How they added to our history that edits out their resistance. Their work built the walls of the city.
“Today we remember that Bristol is a place that wouldn’t be where it is without the slave trade, without colonialism and without Colston.
“I sit here today because if we saw him for the man he was, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
An All Black Lives march held in October 2020. Photo: Ellie Pipe
El of Black Community Rising added: “It’s a shame that we have to do this and we’re sending a message of solidarity to the Colston 4 and those who are bringing our history of resistance into the present.
“We know who the real criminals are and stand in solidarity.”
More than 160 attended the support demonstration on Zoom, including people from Chesterfield, east London, Sheffield and Derby.
A final talk from Dr Shawn Sobers, associate professor at UWE Bristol, was shown via a video.
The video was paused and played using just audio after a racist slur was drawn over the screen. The chat was also disabled, with organiser Anna V saying: “Sorry about the disturbance. I think it represents that we definitely also have a lot of work to do.”
Sobers’ closing speech was reminder of Colston’s legacy and the ongoing attempts to make Bristol a better place.
“Over the past 20 years, there have been plenty of formal attempts to have the statue removed and also for the plaque to be reworded.
“In 2020, a year like no other that we have lived through in peacetime Britain, there was an outcome to this age-old question of what is the city of Bristol doing commemorate the lives of the millions of Africans that were transported and sold into slavery.
“The answer was clear – and people did not want the city to be representing this history. They did not want it to be represented through the narrative of one of the slave trade’s most powerful leaders.”
The statue fell during a Black Lives Matter march on June 7, 2020. Photo: Harry Pugsley
Sobers added: “But it is so much bigger than the statue itself. Do we care more about the abstract principle of an inanimate object that had no meaningful improvement in the lives of any living person than the very real injustices that are continued to be faced by African and African descendant people in Britain and across the globe?
“That was the actual focus of the Black Lives Matter protests. They were shining the light.”
On Monday, some protesters did arrive at Bristol Magistrates’ Court – which was protected by dozens of police officers.
Inside court, Rhian Graham, Milo Ponsford, Jake Skuse, and Sage Willoughby, all pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal damage to the statue.
The four rejected the option to have their case heard by magistrates, opting instead to go to Bristol Crown Court, where their case will be heard by a judge and jury.
Main photo of Xahra of All Black Lives Bristol: Colston 4
Read more: Bus stop adverts repurposed to show support for Colston 4
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