Jen Ried- Statue of 'Black Lives Matter' in Bristol by Replacing Colston Plinth

 Jen Reid Statue

Britain's class liberation fighter Jen Reid will now stand tall in Bristol. Jen Reid was the first woman to speak out against British slavery in the seventeenth century. The decision to erect a statue of Jen Reid in Bristol comes after George Floyd was assassinated on May 25 as part of a racist coup. Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests against apartheid. And it took over the world. After that, a statue of Ried was erected in the center of the city. 

The statue now stands on the Bristol plinth that, last month, was abruptly vacated when Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters tore down a bronze monument to the 17th-century slaver Edward Colston. The new effigy, erected in secret yesterday, at the crack of dawn, is titled A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 and has been created by the artist Marc Quinn. Life sized, cast in black resin, it shows the campaigner Jen Reid standing, one fist raised, in a pose in which a photographer had captured her a few weeks earlier.

Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees, who had previously called the statue of Colston "an affront", said the new sculpture "was not requested and permission was not given for it to be installed".

In a statement, he said: "The future of the plinth and what is installed on it must be decided by the people of Bristol," he said.