Colston gone, one year on

 

An important debate with key questions, raised by a group of artists who have always had their heart and activism invested in this debate, since the late 1990s at least, from Bristol UK: 

7 June 2021, posted on Twitter: 

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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+ THREAD + Today marks the 1st anniversary of the #Colston statue finally being pulled down; a hugely symbolic action that resonated around the world.

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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History is now being written & set before our eyes, but before these accounts turn into authoritative records, there is a brief window of time to pose several important questions …

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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1h

Why are the civic contests & campaigns that tried to remove the statue (& rename “Colston Hall”) & the institutional & political failures that protracted/frustrated those efforts both now being overlooked, undermined or glossed over?

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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What could Bristol and other cities potentially learn from those multiple institutional & political failures?

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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What role did individuals and organisations such as the Society of Merchant Venturers play in those repeated frustrations?

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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Is it right for private, opaque bodies to be exercising influence on the civic stage? How is this influence – then & now - reported or recorded for public interest & accountability?

Massive Attack

@MassiveAttackUK

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It has been suggested publicly that the SMV (via its investment arm SMV Investments) has major holdings in sectors that continue to have a devastating impact on the people of global south, notably the arms and fossil fuel industries…

If these suggestions prove to be correct, what role should this, or any institution with unethical policies be allowed to play in the civic decision making of a modern, progressive city?

Men, women, and wars

 

When white men write or film stories of colonial times, they tell it through the lens of the white soldiers, and take away the point of view of civilians, women, and of course the 'colonised'.

Latest one:

'DES HOMMES' de Lucas Belvaux 

I personally wrote a short story about these years, that war, inspired by what my grand-mother and mother lived through. 

I know it's not the thrilling type of page-turner romance or true crimes that publishers really want at the moment. 

But I hope to share it some day.

Colston, a year later

Now that we're reaching a year after the toppling of Colston's statue here in Bristol... I can see a lot of social media noise.

I came to Bristol in 2015 precisely to discuss these crucial post-colonial problems, when it was a non-issue for most. And I interviewed the people who actually campaigned for change, from Massive Attack's 3D to Cleo Lake.

So I'm going to focus on the debates coming up only if including people who have actually campaigned for the statue to be taken down or to change the context in which it was displayed, at least.

Whoever invites commentators who jumped on the bang-wagon on the day of the protests is disrespectful to real activists.

I want to share again some of the interviews I produced last year.

First and foremost Cleo Lake:

One of the real voices on these issues, involved in trying to raise a plaque to be posted by the statue, is Dr Shawn Sobers.

He is an Associate Professor at UWE, where I also teach, a researcher, photographer, and filmmaker on 'black' history here in Bristol.

Here I interviewed him in June 2020 on #BLM, Colston' statue and the role of the role of the arts against racism, for the radio I have reported for years, DW.

Unedited discussion in English:

Good luck to them and good luck to Bristol as we go through a strange time...