Bristol Removes Black Lives Matter Statue

Contractors remove the statue "A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020" by artist Marc Quinn, which had been installed on the site of the fallen statue of the slave trader Edward Colston, in Bristol, England, on July 16, 2020. Ben Birchall/PA via AP

Bristol City in southwest England removed a statue of Black Lives Matter protester Jen Reid on Thursday morning, after it was erected a day earlier.

The city council wrote on Twitter that the statue “will be held at our museum for the artist to collect or donate to our collection.”

Black lives matter protester Jen Reid poses for a photograph in front of a sculpture of herself, by local artist Marc Quinn, on the plinth where the Edward Colston statue used to stand, in Bristol, England, on July 15, 2020. Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

The resin statue was created by artist Marc Quinn, who was inspired after seeing a photo of Jen Reid posing on the empty plinth where the statue of 17th century English slave trader and Bristol benefactor Edward Colston used to stand, until it was pulled down and thrown into the harbour by protesters on June 7.

The protest was part of the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. The Edward Colston memorial has since been retrieved from the water, and Marvin Rees, mayor of Bristol, said it would be displayed in a museum alongside Black Lives Matter placards.

Protesters tear down a statue of Edward Colston in Bristol, Britain, on June 7, 2020. Mohiudin Malik via Reuters

The statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston falls into the water after protesters pulled it down and pushed into the docks, during a protest against in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, in Bristol, Britain, on June 7, 2020. Keir Gravil via Reuters

Rees posted on Twitter that it’s for the people of Bristol to decide what, if anything, will go on the now-empty plinth.

The mayor said during a live Q&A on Facebook that he would work with a history commission to tell the “full story of Bristol,” and that it is important to “honour that process.”

He also said he would commit to “build[ing] a future which brings the city together,” because “we all live here, none of us is going to disappear.”

“We have to have a city that is a home for all [people with different opinions],” he added.

Reuters contributed to this report