History is the study of the past. However, there are moments in time when we sense that we are currently a part of something significant in human history. There is much taking place at the moment that might feel like that to many of us.
One such moment that took place recently, is the removal of a statue from the GCCB's Deputy Content Curator's home city of Bristol, England. The statue is of Edward Colston who was both a slaver and philanthropist in the last 1800s in the city. While the removal of the statue is not in itself the point, it does reflect the social change occurring in many parts of the world right now.
Debate had been raging for years regarding Colston's statue and the other ways in which his legacy was recognized in the city through the naming of schools and other institutions such as the city's concert hall.
And it appears that now was the time that the people of the city decided enough was enough and in true Bristolian fashion took matters into their own hands and had a little bit of fun in the process.
Colston's statue was unceremoniously torn down from its plinth in the city centre, rolled about 300 metres and pushed into the harbor, landing with quite the splash.
Needless, to say the City Council were concerned that the submerged statue might cause a hazard and so arranged, with the help of the city's museum to retrieve it and in doing so, discovered a number of interesting items...maybe the least of which was the old bicycle tire that had become attached to the statue!
Whilst cleaning the statue (but carefully preserving the recently applied graffiti) the museum staff also discovered a copy of a publication from 1895 which had been hidden inside the statue when it was originally placed on its plinth. Not only did it give a glimpse of the time period when the statue was considered to be a welcome addition to the city centre but the men who completed the installation took the time to add their names to the pages as a record of their work.
Of course, the question is what to do next with the statue and celebrated Bristolian graffiti artist Banksy had an interesting idea that it should be returned to its plinth but an additional sculpture added to show the people of the city tearing it down.
However, whilst it is decided, someone wasted no time in commemorating the event in a different way, in typical irreverent Bristolian fashion!
As we all ponder current events over a cup of coffee and take action as we see fit, we hope this story of peaceful social change in Bristol, undertaken with a touch of humor among the seriousness of it all, will offer a counter point to some of the darker stories we are all reading right now.
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