Lewis Hamilton on racist statues: “Tear them down. Everywhere”

“All statues of racist men who made money selling people should be demolished,” Formula 1 athlete Lewis Hamilton wrote on his Instagram channel. The world champion has asked governments around the world to remove statues that can be seen as racist symbols.

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To this end, the British racing driver posted a photo of an anti-racism demonstration in Bristol, in which the statue of an English trader was knocked off his pedestal, who had made a large part of his wealth from the slave trade. “Our country honored a man who sold African slaves!” Said Hamilton. During the protests in Bristol, the statue was thrown into the harbor basin. “Tear them down. Everywhere,” wrote the 35-year-old.

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“Lewis is a great ambassador and his comments are very legitimate, we fully support him,” said Formula 1 sports director Ross Brawn on Sky TV about Hamilton’s anti-racism commentary.

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff also stood behind his racing driver last week. “I’m happy about it and support that he made his voice heard,” said Wolff in a Sky interview. He had learned a lot from Hamilton.

The Mayor of Bristol did not regret the loss of the fallen slave trader statue. “As an elected politician, I can’t support property damage and riots like this,” said Labor Labor party leader Marvin Rees on Monday. But the statue of a slave trader in the middle of the city was never anything other than a “personal affront” for him, emphasized the politician with Jamaican roots.

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The dealer Edward Colston (1636-1721) has been venerated as a benefactor in Bristol for centuries because he supported poor houses and schools. However, its wealth was largely due to the trade in African slaves shipped to America under unspeakable conditions. Many have already died on board, and some have even been thrown into the sea. In recent decades, there have been repeated calls to remove the statue and to rename streets and buildings named after Colston.

In Britain, tens of thousands of people took to the streets last weekend to demonstrate against racism despite contact restrictions in the coronavirus pandemic. Lewis Hamilton is one of her most prominent supporters.

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