Community Resistance

Over the years and through the hard work of activists in the city the painful legacy of Colston is becoming more and more known.It has been at times horrendously hard for members of the community to live within a city that so openly demonstrates ties to a slave trader and celebrates this history. As you can see with the listed locations, there are several spaces within the city that pay homage to the man. The community had been fighting to get rid of the Colston's presence within the city, or at the very least, contextualise him properly decades before the dethroning of the Colston statue (more on that in our next section!). Elders within the community have spoken for years about what he represents and why he should not be celebrated and it has, at times, fallen on deaf ears within the institutions that uphold his name and legacy.

For example, In November 2017, Colston's Girls' School, which is funded by the Society of Merchant Venturers, announced that it would not drop the name of Colston because it was of "no benefit" to the school to do so.
 

There was initially public outrage at the campaign to rename the building of Colston Hall to something that did not reflect Colston and what he represented. 

In April 2017, the charity that runs the Colston Hall, the Bristol Music Trust, announced that it would drop the name of Colston when it reopened after refurbishment in 2020. There had been protests and petitions calling for a name change and some concertgoers and artists had boycotted the venue because of the Colston name. Following the decision, petitions to retain the name of Colston reached almost 10,000 signatures, though the charity confirmed that the name change would go ahead.

The "Colston Hall" lettering was physically removed from the building eight days after the Colston statue was toppled. It was recently renamed as the Bristol Beacon.

So there are signs of change on the way within the community, but not nearly enough has been done. In response to this idea, a committee of campaigners/activists/heroes created the “Countering Colston” movement. The aims and objectives can be found below: 

• Remember the full, true history of transatlantic slavery, colonialism and exploitation;

• Commemorate and mourn the people who suffered and died as a result of the slave trade, and recognise the coerced economic contribution that they made;

• Celebrate the people who courageously resisted slavery and fought for abolition and emancipation;

• Acknowledge and repair, as far as possible, the negative effects in the present day of historical slavery;

• Promote ideas of human dignity, equality and freedom
  
  This is truly incredible work guys. Thank you for all that you do.