Banksy proposes new statue honoring protesters who toppled Edward Colston statue in England

Mysterious street artist Banksy has weighed in on the toppling by protesters in England Sunday of a statue of slave trader Edward Colston. Banksy wants to commemorate the very protesters who pulled the statue down as they were demonstrating against racism and police brutality.

The artist posted concept art of the piece on Instagram. “Here’s an idea that caters for both those who miss the Colston statue and those who don’t,” Banksy wrote.

“We drag him out the water, put him back on the plinth, tie cable round his neck and commission some life size bronze statues of protestors in the act of pulling him down. Everyone happy. A famous day commemorated,” Banksy added.

Protesters in Bristol removed the Colston statue from its base and tossed it into the harbor. 

It dated back to 1895, more than 150 years after Colston’s death and 88 years after Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807.

Colston played a key role in the Royal African Company, which was responsible for transporting around 80,000 indentured people to the Americas in the 17th century.

The statue proposal is just the latest statement from Banksy on protests around the world in the wake of the fatal arrest of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.

Over the weekend, Banksy posted artwork on Instagram along with a statement of solidarity:

“People of color are being failed by the system. The white system. Like a broken pipe flooding the apartment of the people living downstairs,” Banksy wrote. “This faulty system is making their life a misery, but it’s not their job to fix it. They can’t – no one will let them into the apartment upstairs. This is a white problem. And if white people don’t fix it, someone will have to come upstairs and kick the door in.”