Why Are Statues Being Taken Down?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Activists have long called for Confederate flags and symbols to be taken down, but the accelerated removal of statues was fueled by

widespread protests against systemic racism and police brutality following Floyd’s death

, with more people linking Confederate monuments with white supremacy, according to Erin L.

Are statues being taken down in UK?


Statues

have

been removed

from two schools in

England

, six have changed their names because of links to slavery and colonialism, while seven others have

removed

“inappropriate” house names within schools. … In November, the Welsh government identified 209 monuments, buildings or street names linked with slavery.

Why are statues being removed in the UK?


Statues

have

been removed

from two schools in

England

, six have changed their names because of links to slavery and colonialism, while seven others have

removed

“inappropriate” house names within schools. … In November, the Welsh government identified 209 monuments, buildings or street names linked with slavery.

What statue was removed in UK?

On 11 June the Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity and King’s College London issued a joint statement announcing that the

statue of Robert Clayton at St Thomas’ Hospital

and that of Thomas Guy at the hospital named after him would be removed from public view.

Which statues in London are being removed?


The monuments to William Beckford

, a former London mayor who drew his wealth from plantations in Jamaica that used slave labour, and John Cass, a member of Parliament and important figure in the Royal Africa Company that facilitated the transatlantic slave trade, will be resited.

Is removing statues Erasing history?

Every time a statue or monument is removed,

it in turn reduces the amount of history succeeding generations have to learn from

. However, history was being lost before monuments were taken down, in the sense of general lack of awareness.

How many statues are in London?

Although there is no clear list of statues in London, it is estimated that around the

265 depict historical figures

, of which 17 are of women.

Why are Confederate statues being removed?

The removals have been driven by the belief that

the monuments glorify white supremacy

; memorialize an unrecognized, treasonous government, the Confederacy, whose founding principle was the perpetuation and expansion of slavery; and that the presence of these Confederate memorials over a hundred years after the defeat …

How many Confederate statues have been removed 2020?

By October 2020,

over a hundred Confederate symbols

had been “removed, relocated or renamed,” as the Huffington Post put it, based on data from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Why statues should not be removed?

Taking them down is to censor, whitewash, and potentially forget that history. Removing statues is a slippery slope that could lead to the brash removal of monuments to any slightly problematic person. The

statues do not cause racism

and could be used to fight racism if put into historical context.

How many statues are there in the UK?

The Public Monuments and Sculpture Association (PMSA) is a volunteer-run charity which has been recording public sculpture across the UK for three decades, although its database is not an exhaustive list of every statue in the country. Of the

828 statues

it recorded, 174 of them were female – around one in five.

Is there a George Floyd statue?

The statue of George Floyd is a

bronze statue

of George Floyd (1973-2020) who was killed by police officers during his arrest in Minneapolis. It is situated outside Newark, New Jersey’s City Hall. Installed on June 19, 2021, the statue was commissioned by Leon Pickney and sculpted by Stanley Watts.

Who pulled down Edward Colston statue?

On 7 June 2020, during the global protests following the killing of George Floyd in the United States, the statue was pulled down by

demonstrators

who then jumped on it.

What is the significance of a statue?

Statues can teach us about history, but they do not convey some immutable truth from the past. Instead, they are

symbolic of the fixed ideas of a specific community regarding its past

, as captured at a particular point in time.

What did Edward Colston do?

Edward Colston (2 November 1636 – 11 October 1721) was an English merchant, philanthropist and Tory Member of Parliament who was

involved in the Atlantic slave trade

. … By 1680, he became involved in the slave trade as a member of the Royal African Company, which held a monopoly on the English trade in African slaves.

Maria Kunar
Author
Maria Kunar
Maria is a cultural enthusiast and expert on holiday traditions. With a focus on the cultural significance of celebrations, Maria has written several blogs on the history of holidays and has been featured in various cultural publications. Maria's knowledge of traditions will help you appreciate the meaning behind celebrations.