‘It should stay in the water like the 20,000 African souls who died’
Lewis Hamilton has slammed the politicians who criticised Black Lives Matters protesters who tore down a statue of a 17th century slave trader in Bristol on Sunday.
Protesters were shown bringing the statue of Edward Colston down after tying ropes around it, before dumping the heavy metal in the harbour.
The act saw Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Home Secretary Priti Patel condemn those involved, branding the actions as “completely wrong” and “utterly disgraceful”.
Starmer went on to say that the statue should be fished out of the river and placed in a museum.
Hamilton hit back on Instagram by claiming that Colston’s statue “would never have been removed if it wasn’t for the protesters”, before saying that the statue “should say in the river with the 20,000 African souls who died”.
He wrote: “Watching the news today regarding the statue torn down yesterday! If those people hadn’t taken down that statue, honouring a racist slave trader, it would never have been removed.
“There’s talks of it going into a museum. That man’s statue should stay in the river just like the 20 thousand African souls who died on the journey here and thrown into the sea, with no burial or memorial.
“He stole them from their families, country and he must not be celebrated! It should be replaced with a memorial for all those he sold, all those that lost their lives!”
In a separate post, Hamilton urged the world’s politicians to peacefully remove other “racist symbols”.
“Our country honoured a man who sold African slaves! All statues of racist men who made money from selling a human being should be torn down!” he wrote.
Hamilton then proposed an interesting question, asking: “Which one is next?’ followed by an emoji of a fist.
“I challenge government officials worldwide to make these changes and implement the peaceful removal of these racist symbols.”
Police have launched a criminal damage investigation into what happened to the statue, which has long been a source of controversy in the city where it has been situated since 1895.
Speaking after the demonstration, superintendent Andy Bennett vowed there would be an investigation into the ‘act of criminal damage,’ near Bristol Harbourside, where slave ships once docked centuries ago.
Six-time world champion Hamilton, F1’s only black driver, has been vocal in his support of the protests following the death of African American George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, United States on May 25.
Police officer Derek Chauvin has since been charged with second degree murder after a video emerged showing him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he laid on the floor in handcuffs.
His death has sparked a series of protests across the US and solidarity demonstrations around the world.
