-EDIT/ GRADE

'Statues aren’t history. They are a memorialisation. They are acts of political symbolism meant to shore up a narrative about what this country is.’Writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch rebuts the idea that toppling statues serve to erase history, and explains the fragility of a nation that cannot engage fully with their own past. The removal of statues is a topic Hirsch is well known for addressing, having tackled it back in 2017 in a widely read article for the Guardian. Not only is her work in resurfacing the parts of colonial history that have been excluded from the popular narrative, but as she explains, statues are not 'history' but memorialisations that are politically expedient, which warrant review.

Credits:

Speech: Afua Hirsch
Film Edit: Raquel Couceiro