Call for national support for removal of colonial era statues

There is a call for national support for the removal of colonial era statues and the renaming of some streets in Jamaica. The call follows the removal of several Confederate statues in the US following the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis last month. 

On Sunday, anti-racism protesters in Bristol, England also tore down a statue of  slave trader Edward Colston.

Communications and Development Specialist, Dr Deborah Hickling-Gordon, says the time has come for policy decision in Jamaica on how that issue should be dealt with. She says there should be consensus in the decision making process.

“I believe that we need to make some holistic plans for these objectives; so it’s not about a group of people in a boardroom saying we’re going to take down this, or we’re going to put up that. It’s about making some decisions about policies that are a 30 year plan on how we are going to deal with these,” she asserted. She was speaking today on TVJ's Smile Jamaica programme.

And president of the United Negro Improvement Association, Stephen Golding, says statues, including the one erected for Christopher Columbus, should be removed. There is currently a petition for the renaming of Lady Musgrave Road in St Andrew.

Lady Musgrave was the wife of  Sir Anthony Musgrave, a colonial administrator and a Governor of  Jamaica in the 1880's.