In Britain, a BlackLivesMatter statue has sparked an important debate around representation.
, a near-majority of the Bristol population had already expressed their wish for the statue to be removed.
But while few could disagree with the powerful visual impact of Marc Quinn’s replacement, since its erection and subsequent removal over the past 48 hours, the statue has already been the subject of fierce debate. Some have questioned whether it was appropriate for Quinn, as a white artist and a notorious provocateur within the art world, to insert himself into the narrative without invitation.
, Black British artist Thomas J. Price described the statue as “a votive to appropriation,” noting that “a moment of social change that should have been about bringing equality and real opportunities to Black people has been hijacked.
In the U.S., these symbols exist most notably in the form of monuments to Confederate generals built many decades after the Civil War had ended. They are not true historical memorials, but were created as an insidious means of intimidating African Americans during the era of the Jim Crow laws.
What, then, to put on the plinths? Quinn’s attempt may have been ultimately unsuccessful, both in terms of its swift removal and its lack of unanimous support, but it’s hard not to see the fact that these debates are taking place not just within activist circles, and now at the highest levels of government, as a marker of progress. There may be no perfect solution. Price argues that this should not be a deterrent to ongoing debate, but rather a sign that we should be taking things slowly.
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