BLM: sculpture of Jen Reid in place of Edward Colston statue has been removed

Bristol City council removed BLM sculpture of Jen Rein that replaced the toppled Edward Colston statue. It was installed without consent.

The BLM sculpture of Jen Rein has been removed this morning at around 5.20 am. Yesterday, a group of activist put the statue in the plinth of the toppled Edward Colston statue. Council workers used ropes to safely remove the statue of Jen Reid and transfer it into a recycling and skip hire lorry.

BLM sculpture of Jen Reid removed

After several protests about BLM, some statues in the UK which are known for slave traders are taken down, like Edward Colston statue. Yesterday, activists raised Jen Reid statue, made by artist Marc Quinn, in the early hours of Wednesday.

Then workers removed the BLM sculpture because they installed it without the consent of Bristol City Council.

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees tweeted: “I understand people want expression, but the statue has been put up without permission. Anything put on the plinth outside of the process we’ve put in place will have to be removed.” A council spokesperson declared: “This morning we removed the sculpture. It will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection.”

Last month, BLM protesters have thrown Edward Colston statue into the harbour at Pero’s Bridge. Then the council took the statue and will display it in a museum along with placards from the BLM protest, from the water on June 11. Colston was a merchant in the Royal African Company during the 17th Century. He was a philanthropist in his native Bristol and upon his death, he bequeathed his richness to charities.

However, in 1680 he became a member of the Royal African Company which at the time controlled slave trade between England and West Africa. Then by 1689 he reached the firm’s deputy governor. During his time, the company transported around 84,000 African men, women and children as slaves.