It is not my fault that the Colston Hall in Bristol bears the name of a slave trader. Edward Colston was a philanthropist, a merchant and a slave trader. Streets were named after him, there is a statue of him on the city centre. He died in 1721, so, old that I am, I never met him. More importantly than that, whilst the Colston Hall bears the name Colston, it was named after the street, Colston Street, in which it stands, not Edward himself. He also had nothing to do with the funding of the hall which opened in 1867. So, why the fuss?
It’s obvious, isn’t it? We should be ashamed of the past. It was utterly appalling that people made their wealth out of slavery. Had I been around in the 1600s and 170os, I would have fought on the front-line to oppose slavery. It’s a stain on our history, but how can it be a stain on me? I wasn’t there at the time. I had no say in it and, so far as I can tell, none of my ancestors were in any way involved. And what if they had been? There’s not much I can do about it now, is there?
I understand the sensitivities, of course I do. I am white, albeit five-eighths foreign. I am sure it still feels raw to many people of colour to know how their ancestors were treated and regarded. But I say it again: it was not my fault. I didn’t stand around doing nothing when slavery was going on. Is there anything to be gained from changing the name of the Colston Hall to something less offensive?
It hardly matters what I think, because the name is changing whatever I think. There is a consultation exercise going on at the moment which, if it gives the ‘wrong’ result, will change it anyway. For what it is worth, the name Colston should be preserved. Not to illustrate what a great bloke he was, but to remind people, especially young people, how things were hundreds of years ago. It is all very well to urge teachers to teach children about our history, especially the grim parts, but if there are real life symbols that encourage people to ask questions, then isn’t that better?
There are reminders of slavery in Bristol. How could there not be? The Wills Memorial building at Bristol University, for example. Blackboy Hill in Clifton which links onto Whiteladies Road. Do we change every single name and attempt to remove history from our city, the ugly ones, as well as the beautiful? I fear that people are already thinking that way already.
It’s very hard to defend the Colston Hall in an environment like this. Those of us who do are generally not racists, few if any will excuse slavery. I can’t see how changing the name is anything other than tokenism and I’ll bet that vast numbers of people will carry on referring to the Colston Hall and not whatever it is a small minority of people decide it should be called.
