London may remove statues as Floyd’s death sparks change

June 9, 2020 Updated Tue., June 9, 2020 at 10:23 p.m.

The statue of Robert Milligan, a noted West Indian merchant, slaveholder and founder of London's global trade hub, West India Docks, stands covered in a sack-cloth and sign reading Black Lives Matter, outside the Museum of London Docklands, Tuesday June 9, 2020. The recent death of George Floyd who died after a U.S. officer pressed his knee into his neck, has prompted investigations into the lorded promotion of many historical figures who gave money to philanthropic enterprises, gaving their names to British city areas, statues and landmarks, but gained much of their wealth from the slave trade. (Renee Bailey)

By Jill Lawless Associated Press

LONDON – London’s mayor announced Tuesday that more statues of imperialist figures could be removed from Britain’s streets after protesters knocked down the monument to a slave trader, as the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis continued to spark protests and drive change around the world.

On the day Floyd was being buried in his hometown of Houston, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was setting up a commission to ensure the British capital’s monuments reflected its diversity. The Commission for Diversity in the Public Realm will review statues, murals, street art, street names and other memorials and consider which legacies should be celebrated, the mayor’s office said.

“It is an uncomfortable truth that our nation and city owes a large part of its wealth to its role in the slave trade and while this is reflected in our public realm, the contribution of many of our communities to life in our capital has been willfully ignored,” Khan said.

Staff members and lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament held a minute of silence in Floyd’s memory on Tuesday, and protesters were to gather in London.