Khôlle

Khôlle d’Anglais :

Context:

George Floyd’s death has been the starting point of a “revolution” all around the world during which number of monuments and memorials associated with racial injustice were destroyed and removed. This revolution took place in many different countries, mostly in the United States with protests movements:

• In Virginia, the J.E.B Stuart monument was defaced.
• In Columbus Minnesota the statue of Christopher Columbus was pulled from its pedestal by protesters.

and many more. This protests movements also happened in France, in Martinique, Belgium, Scotland, which shows how important these protestations were.

This text is an extract coming from a newspaper named “The Economist” and was published on June 11th of 2020 and is entitled:

“How to handle racist’s statues: should they stay, or should they go?”

Synthesis:

The document starts by explaining that burghers of Bristol were looking for a big historical figure of their own. They finally chose a 17th Century merchant named Edward Colson who lifted people out of poverty thanks to charities. However, he made his money thanks to the Royal African Company, who was implicated in slave’s trade. On June 7th of 2020, they threw his statue in the city’s harbour. It is also clearly explained that what is celebrated in one era can later be rejected because statues that were erected before are not representative of our actual societies. There is a conflict between the fact that these statues are representing “Confederate heroes” and the fact they were only promoting white supremacy.

Nevertheless, the journalist explains that it would be foolish to throw overboard all these figures as much as it would be to keep these statues because they are ancient. Some statues are source of arguing, like Oliver Croswell for example who caused a lot of suffering In Ireland, but his role in democracy’s development justifies his presence in Parliament square. United-States has many statues of former slave owners, like Washington and Jefferson. Many statues have been removed and there are still many to come. It is said that statues should be taken down the same way they are put up, by social consensus. The statue of Colson was dredged out of the river, and the council is planning to put it in a museum. However, in some countries, with difficult histories have sometimes found imaginative solutions. For example, in Mumbai, the statue of Edward VII was consigned to the zoo.

We are going to ask ourselves: Should we honour our duty to remember racists?

1. An important duty of memory:

1. Important members of history
2. Statues should at least be placed in museum

1. Acts against our current morality

1. Unforgivable acts (enslavement)
2. New icons should be chosen.

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