News / Edward Colston
David Olusoga ‘desperately’ wanted to join Colston protests in Bristol
David Olusoga has said he “desperately” wanted to join anti-racism protests but did not because he promised his family he would be careful during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Bristol-based historian and presenter said he fought the urge to cycle to the Black Lives Matter protest on June 7, which saw the statue of 17th century slave trader Edward Colston toppled and thrown into the docks.
He told the Radio Times: “I was at home, doing what I normally do, trying to write while monitoring social media. I was following the crowds as they moved down to the statue.
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“I desperately wanted to be there. Seeing people and all of this energy around the statue, I fought enormously against the urge to jump on my bike and cycle down there – my home is only 10 minutes away.
“I’ve been in Bristol longer than anywhere else I’ve ever lived and throughout that time the statue has loomed over us.”
Olusoga said the decision not to attend the protest was “very difficult” – photo: BBC
He added: “Though, before I could be tortured by not being able to go, Colston’s statue toppled. It was a hugely emotional moment but, at that point, my job was to start writing.”
He told the magazine: “Almost predictably, what happened in Bristol was put down to thuggery.
“The word ‘thug’ has long been used in this country as a dog whip for attacks on black people, it’s a word that drips with racism, but it just doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
“The nearby statue of Edmund Burke wasn’t touched. Queen Victoria’s statue is around the corner – that wasn’t touched.
“There’s a supermarket full of alcohol. If there had been thuggery, there would have been broken windows, there would have been alcohol and cigarettes stripped off the shelf. None of that happened.”
In August, Olusoga used the annual MacTaggart Lecture, the keynote speech of the Edinburgh TV Festival, to highlight a “lost generation” of diverse talent in the television industry.
He used the example of Marvin Rees as somebody who left the television industry, and in his interview with the Radio Times he revealed that he spoke to the Bristol mayor on the day the Colston statue was toppled about the police decision not to intervene to stop the statue being torn down.
Olusoga said: “It’s a lot easier for me because I’m not an elected official. For Marvin, you’ve got to make sure people are safe.”
The interview with Olusoga was timed to mark the broadcast of his new documentary, Africa Turns the Page, about the influence of African writers on world literature.
Main photo by Harry Pugsley
Read more: David Olusoga: ‘If you can run Bristol, you can run a TV channel’
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