Why was #EdwardColston put up as a statue in Bristol in the first place, in 1895, over 170 years after he died? If they wanted a white businessman/philanthropist (and we'll get onto his philanthropy later), there were many other candidates. Why a slave trader?

It's sometimes thought that Colston was the only man who gave to Bristol. Not the case. Among the others was Richard Reynolds who gave more money to Bristol than Colston. He was a Quaker iron merchant who was an anti-slavery campaigner and gave £20,000 in poor relief. (2)

Another establishment man they could have commemorated was John Whitson, c16 Lord Mayor and merchant who owned warships and gave his massive share of prize money to create almshouses for the poor. Set up the Red Maids School for poor girls and orphans to learn to read and sew (3)

Or they could have commemorated William Canynges, c15 cloth merchant, who rebuilt St Mary Redcliffe, and later became a priest. There were plenty of wealthy elite white men who had given to Bristol to choose from. But they chose a slave trader (4).

We’ve already discussed how Colston’s charity - as the plaque tried to say but was the Council was blocked - was selective and given to those who supported his beliefs, inc slavery (5).

And slave traders did turn to charity later in life as a way of 'buying' their way into heaven. Also, as we said yesterday, Savile and Epstein were 'philanthropists' and used this as cover to get away with their evil. On top of this Colston's charity was hardly astonishing (6)

By 1884, as excellent and important work by Bristol historians, Roger Ball and Spencer Jordan, has explored, the Colston charities covered 1.5 percent of the total cost of helping the poor in Bristol. A report also criticised the charities for chaotic organisation (7)

But despite this, as Ball and Jordan show, business societies in Bristol romanticised Colston as the 'father of the city' and the nineteenth century saw them pushing the Colston cult - even with talk of relics (8).

But what prompted the statue? Yes, you guessed it, the workers of Bristol were revolting, threatening to join unions and strike. A mass protest in 1892 panicked business leaders. So, one James Arrowsmith, decided to remind everyone of the great man Colston with a statue. (9)

it's often said that Colston was put up by the people of Bristol. Not! Arrowsmith could barely get anyone to give money for the statue. When it was put up, it was only half paid for. Colston was presented as the 'wise and virtuous' son of Bristol, no mention of slavery. (10)

Colston was a horrific slave trader in human souls and misery. The people of Bristol did NOT put up his statue. One man did. The statue was driven by fear of workers demanding rights and panic about the end of Empire, the brutal oppressions which had made the elites so rich. (11)

Colston should have come down long ago. People have been trying for years to get this statue down. But not even a plaque noting slavery seemed to be possible. Black people had to walk past this disgraceful celebration of slavery in the 21st century. (12)

Thanks to #blacklivesmatter he is thrown into sea near Pero's Bridge, named for Pero Jones, born into enslavement, brought to Bristol as a servant, never freed.
For more, see excellent article by Roger Ball https://www.brh.org.uk/site/articles/myths-within-myths/ Spencer Jordan's UWE PhD on Bristol elites. (13)

All power to all the many Bristolians who have tried for so long to have Colston removed and his evil trade noted (14).

All power to the great Bristol historians @OlivetteOtele @DavidOlusoga who are leading the way for a new city and country, one confronting its slave trading past and its present where black people and brown people suffer constant exclusion, discrimination and hatred. (15)

For those asking - but why did Colston become a statue in 1895 when he wasn't so much of a philanthropist and most people of Bristol didn't actually want him up??? A simple answer: racism and white supremacy. For them, black lives didn't matter. #BlackLivesMatter (16)

And grateful to my graduate and undergraduate students with whom I have discussed #Colston over the last 5 years in class and their excellent insights and essays.