Protesters Given Taste of Their Own Medicine as Black Power Statue Gets Taken Down Day After Installation
Anti-monument protesters were given a taste of their own medicine as a statue of their own creation was removed roughly 24 hours after it was first installed.
The statue, which depicts a woman raising her fist in a black power salute, was installed by activists early Wednesday morning in Bristol, England, according to Euronews. The spot was previously occupied by a monument torn down by protesters.
On Thursday, city council workers removed the new statue.
The statue — dubbed “A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020,” according to the London-based outlet The Times — was installed without the local government’s permission.
Marc Quinn, the artist behind the work, based the design on Black Lives Matter activist Jen Reid after she was seen standing on the recently vacated plinth in June.
The plinth where it was installed used to hold a statue that was razed during violent protests last month.
The original statue, that of merchant Edward Colston, was pulled down and thrown into a nearby harbor due to his dealings in the Atlantic slave trade. It is slated to “be placed in a museum, along with placards from the Black Lives Matter demonstration,” Euronews reported.
Despite not going through the proper procedures, supporters of the new monument want it to stay.
“I’d like the council to keep it here because obviously what it represents and who was there prior,” Reid told Euronews. “It’s a decision that they’re going to have to make.
“I think the most important thing is that something is up there replacing Edward Colston. And for people to discuss, educate, learn and just keep talking about, you know, BLM.”
The moment in which workers carefully removed the statue with a crane was caught on video:
Video: The moment the statue of Jen Reid was lifted from the plinth at 5.30 this morning, by workmen on behalf of the council. pic.twitter.com/E8Cz72wSb6
— Anthony Ward (@Anth0ny_Ward) July 16, 2020
This treatment sits in stark contrast to how protesters abused Colston’s monument.
After violently pulling it down, rioters jumped on the statue and rolled it into a nearby body of water, from which the government later fished it out.
Anti-racism protesters tore down and threw a bronze statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston into a river in Bristol, England on Sunday as thousands demonstrated across the UK over George Floyd’s death https://t.co/aWXfAaMujd pic.twitter.com/1ZLwYdOjU3
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 8, 2020
According to the Bristol City Council, the statue of Reid will be held until the artist either collects the work or donates it to the city’s collection.
The city also promised a “democratic process” in which residents will be able to “decide the future of the plinth.”
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