Cancelling Colston

Published: July 19, 2021, 7:30 p.m.

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In June 2020 the statue of slaver trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into the harbour in Bristol \\u2013 one of the most visible moments of the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK. The statue now lies on its side in a museum, a testament to the dramatic re-evaluation of Bristol\\u2019s painful history at the centre of the transatlantic slave trade. Over the last year schools and buildings bearing Colston's name have been renamed. Colston has been cancelled.\\n \\nBut what about the system of wealth, power and race that he represented? \\n \\nBristol journalist Neil Maggs speaks to the people in Bristol dealing with Colston\\u2019s legacy. Current members of the Society of Merchant Venturers, a powerful charitable organisation which promoted Colston\\u2019s reputation as a philanthropist, have suddenly been thrust into the spotlight. School leaders are rolling out unconscious bias training. Elsewhere community leaders and politicians are navigating the potential for a backlash against terms such as white privilege as the national conversation on race continues.

Producer: Lucy Proctor\\nEditor: Jasper Corbett

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