Your say
‘Erasing Edward Colston’s name is not the way to learn from history’
I am very disappointed with the knee-jerk decision to change the name of the Colston Hall which I believe is misguided, amounts to little more than appeasement and has been taken for entirely the wrong reasons.
Such capitulation sets a bad precedent and represents a slippery slope which will only encourage further agitating to change the names of other Bristol landmarks.
Just to be clear on this issue, and to avoid any possible misunderstanding, no sane person is defending here the abhorrence of slavery.
is needed now More than ever
One may even have sympathy with the argument that ‘from the fruits of evil no good can come’, that despite Edward Colston’s later altruism, which provided schools, churches, hospitals and almshouses for the poor, the source of his great wealth was irredeemably tainted.
However, erasing his name in this manner is not the way to learn from the lessons of history.
Personally, I am not implacably opposed to renaming the building if this were done as part of a commercial sponsorship deal which helped the trust to achieve its aims.
Unfortunately, this latest move is far more likely to antagonise very many Bristolians who will see this as political correctness, virtue-signalling or simply surrender to pacify a vocal minority.
This threatens to deepen divisions on this subject rather than seeking to reach some sort of consensus or pragmatic compromise going forward.
Mark Weston is a councillor for Henbury and Brentry, and leader of the Conservative Party group in Bristol
Read more: Colston Hall to reopen with new name in 2020
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