Comments on: Massive Attack on Bristol’s slavery past http://www.bristol-culture.com/2010/02/04/massive-attack-on-bristols-slavery-past/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=massive-attack-on-bristols-slavery-past A cultural meander through Bristol with plenty of stops for food and drink along the way Wed, 26 Feb 2014 10:42:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 By: Simon http://www.bristol-culture.com/2010/02/04/massive-attack-on-bristols-slavery-past/#comment-1185 Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:53:03 +0000 http://bristolculture.wordpress.com/?p=434#comment-1185 Colston Hall is named after a figure from the city’s history (or is it in fact named after the road, which in turn is…?). The fact that the business that figure was engaged in is now almost unmentionable may be inconvenient to some, but doesn’t change anything.

Renaming Colston Hall will not change it, except possibly to make it less relevant to Bristol. There are all sorts of good reasons for embracing African culture, but if anyone thinks that a few token decorations are going to encourage (or discourage) Bristol’s black population to use the facility is ridiculous.

Before it was closed for renovation, The Industrial Museum had quite a sizeable exhibit on the slave trade. The Georgian House is also inextricably linked and includes significant coverage of the subject. Personally I think it could be quite interesting to have a reconstruction of a slave ship in the harbour, but I think there would be more criticism than praise, along the lines of continuing to make money from Bristol’s unpalatable history.

History is history; it is neither good nor bad. Many things considered unacceptable now were acceptable at the time they occurred. Even historical events that were not acceptable at the time they happened are undeniable fact, and we have to accept that, and discuss it, not hide it and camouflage it under fashionable fluff.

]]>