Edinburgh graffiti: St Andrew Square statue of pro-slavery politician damaged in protest

The statue is Henry Dundas, a politician who delayed the end of the slave trade.

Graffiti has appeared on the Melville statue in St Andrew Square in the wake of the Edinburgh Black Lives Matter protests that took place yesterday.

The statue commemorates Henry Dundas, a politician who delayed the end of slavery leading to around 630,000 slaves waiting an extra 10 years for their freedom.

The words ‘George Floyd’ and ‘BLM’ now cover the base of the statue, which has been the subject of debate for more than two years.

The statue is Henry Dundas, a politician who delayed the end of slavery

Edinburgh academic, Sir Geoff Palmer, Scotland’s first black professor has been campaigning for years to have a plaque placed at the statue explaining the details of Dundas and his links with the slave trade.

Sir Geoff Palmer told the Edinburgh Evening News: “Racism is the consequence of the past.

“We cannot change the past, but we can change the consequences, such as racism, for the better, and one of these changes can start with is putting a plaque on that monument and telling the truth about what Dundas did.”

The statue is Henry Dundas, a politician who delayed the end of slavery

This graffiti comes after a statue of slave trader Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into a river in Bristol during the Black Lives Matter protest.

People all over the UK and the world followed the USA in protesting the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed after a police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Edinburgh saw thousands congregate at Holyrood Park to support the Black Lives Matter movement yesterday.

Social distancing measures were implemented.

The statue is Henry Dundas, a politician who delayed the end of slavery

More to follow

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