Four persons were scheduled to stand trial in the United Kingdom on Monday in connection with the toppling of a statue of a 17th-century slave trader amid anti-racism protests.
On June 7, last year, demonstrators in Bristol, western England, tore down a bronze memorial to Edward Colston, dragged it to the city’s dock, and tossed it into the River Avon.
The protests were part of a worldwide Black Lives Matter movement sparked by the assassination of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, by a white police officer in the United States earlier this month.
Following the toppling of the statue of Colston, a major figure in the Royal Africa Company, which forcefully relocated vast numbers of West Africans, four persons were detained.
According to court documents, their trial on accusations of criminal damage to the listed monument is set to begin at 1000 GMT on Monday at Bristol Crown Court.
Rhian Graham, 29, Milo Ponsford, 25, Jake Skuse, 36, and Sage Willoughby, 21, have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
To show his support, Bristol-based artist Banksy announced that he would be selling commemorative T-shirts for £25 ($33, 30 euros).
The elusive graffiti artist said on his Instagram profile, “All revenues to the defendants so they can go for a pint.”
A picture of Colston’s empty plinth with a rope dangling from it, rubble, and a discarded sign, as well as the word “BRISTOL” scrawled above, may be found on the limited edition grey souvenir toppers.
The Black Lives Matter rallies have forced Britain to confront its colonial past, triggering a rethinking of statues, road names, and structures associated with slave-holding rulers.
Several Bristol institutions named after Colston have now altered their names to prevent bad connotations with the slave trade.
The statue, which had been in the city since 1895, was rescued from the Avon and displayed alongside event notices and explanations of what happened and why.
The vacant plinth was temporarily replaced by a statue of a female protester from the day, but it was removed within 24 hours due to a lack of consent from the local administration.
The government of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pushing through difficult legislation that would increase the penalties for damage of historical artefacts.
A statue of Johnson’s hero, Winston Churchill, was damaged near parliament during the nationwide protests, dubbing the World War II leader a racist.
Protests asking for the removal of a statue of 19th century colonialist Cecil Rhodes have also taken place in Oxford.
