Black Lives Matter protesters have toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, England.
In footage posted to social media earlier today (June 7), the statue can be seen being toppled over from its plinth with rope, and in a subsequent video, it can be seen being dumped into the city's river.
Watch the dramatic moment the statue is pulled down below:Citizens have been calling for the removal of the statue in recent days, with a petition to Bristol City Council to have it removed gathering over 100,000 signatures.
Prior to it being bulled down, protester John McAllister, 71, removed the black bin bags hiding the statues, The Independent reports.
The bronze statue had stood in the center of Bristol since 1895.
McAllister said: "It says 'erected by the citizens of Bristol, as a memorial to one of the most virtuous and wise sons of this city'."
"The man was a slave trader. He was generous to Bristol but it was off the back of slavery and it's absolutely despicable. It's an insult to the people of Bristol," he added.
This Twitter user captioned footage of the statue being pulled down: "The moment a statue of slave trader Edward Colston toppled into Bristol's harbor. 'It's what he deserves. I've been waiting all my life for this moment' someone told me in the moments after."
It is believed that thousands of people were transported from Africa to the Americas in slave ships owned by Colston, the Independent reports.
He went on to become the deputy governor of the Royal African Company, which had a monopoly on the slave trade and later served as Bristol's tory MP.
This news comes as unrest continues to unfold across the US and around the world, as protests - some peaceful, some violent - are calling out the systemic injustices carried out against black people, not least seen by the recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor.
As well as a call for justice, these ongoing protests are also demanding an end to police brutality and the racism that is so deeply entrenched in America and the western world.
The message is simple: Black lives matter.
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