Edward Colston: Bristol slave trader statue 'was an affront'
This is a list of key vocabulary and expressions from the article in order of how useful they are. The expressions in italics are additional and cannot be found in the article. The student must choose 6 items from the list to study in the lesson.
To turn a blind eye (to something)
A/ To crackdown (on something/ someone)
To overturn (meaning to change a legal decision)
15 conversation-provoking questions related to the article.
Do you support the actions of the protestors who tore down the statue of Edward Colston?
Should the protestors be punished for their actions?
Is it wrong to tear down statues without a proper democratic process?
Do you think Edward Colston was ‘evil’?
Were the police right not to intervene?
What should happen to the statue now?
Are there any statues in your country that some people might want to tear down?
Is there someone who deserves a statue in your country, who currently doesn’t have one?
Are you proud of your country’s history?
Are you ashamed of any aspects of your country’s history?
Do you think that history is taught in a biased way in schools?
Do you think that countries that enriched themselves through slavery should now make compensation payments to countries that were negatively affected by the slave trade?
In Bristol, the protestors broke the law. Generally speaking, in what situations is it justified to break the law?
Should slave traders have been punished retroactively for their crimes? For example, if someone traded slaves when it was legal, should they have been sent to prison after it was made illegal?
When was the last time you went to a protest?