
All the best memes from the historic fall of the Colston statue
Because our generation can’t help but historicise an event with a meme
Yesterday saw the historic moment where the statue of a slave trader, Edward Colston, was torn off its plinth in Bristol city centre and rolled into the harbour at the Black Lives Matter protest.
Naturally, for our generation, the internet has glorified this moment in the way it knows best; through memes.
Here are some examples of the quality content created to mark this historic occasion:
Wiki worked hard
THE NOISE I JUST MADE pic.twitter.com/cVRbaAVW8d
— Rebecca Buxton (@RebeccaBuxton) June 7, 2020
Upon protesters rolling the Colston statue in to the harbour, Wikipedia changed their bio for Colston, noting that he ‘won the inaugural Bristol diving championship of 2020, with a well received forward tumble scoring 8.8 points’.
Colston statue rolls into the harbour to the song ‘Good Form (feat.Lil Wayne)’ by Nicki Minaj
fancam of the statue of the slave driver in bristol drowning ✨ pic.twitter.com/WaZ1He05MP
— ً (@lifehardfr) June 7, 2020
The fancam. The soundtrack. I can see it now quoted in history textbooks.
An absolute TUNE
listening to the sound of bristol protestors bring down and drag colston’s statue through the streets and to the harbour pic.twitter.com/Je1Jb3hdmt
— megan • bIm (@alphacentxuri) June 7, 2020
What a soundtrack.
‘It’s… a piece of metal shaped like a racist slave trader’
— joe (@jxeker) June 7, 2020
No historic event is complete without at least a few Drag Race memes.
Naomi Smalls is sending Colston home
My boyfriend just sent this to me 😂😭 #BlackLivesMatterUK #ColstonHasFallen pic.twitter.com/oAqSAxaWm6
— Ben Wyatt (@cher0bia_) June 7, 2020
If you know, you know.
‘Well pick it up if it bothers you’
well pick it up if it bothers you https://t.co/P1279BziXF
— LINK IN BIO (@wsrns) June 7, 2020
I think we could all get on board with seeing Home Secretary Priti Patel going for a nice little dive in the harbour.
TikTok came through, obviously
— aBristolStudents'Voice (@aBristolStuden1) June 8, 2020
Colston said, ‘What’s going on, why am I wet?’
‘Hey… how y’all doin’
— aBristolStudents'Voice (@aBristolStuden1) June 8, 2020
We all feel bad for the fish at the end of the day.
‘Hello, how are you, I am under the water, please help me’
— aBristolStudents'Voice (@aBristolStuden1) June 8, 2020
A classic sound for a historical moment.
2020 Vol 1,2,3…
This image is all too true. But Colston's plunge into the sea feels like the 1 positive bit of history-in-the-making so far: UK people, if not leaders, finding some self respect that isn't based on nostalgia for when Britain led the world at globalising oppression #coastalhistory pic.twitter.com/6jsEwU8RWH
— David Gange (@david_gange) June 8, 2020
2020 is going to be a whole history module within itself.
Colston got an RKO
Watch out watch out watch out #Colston pic.twitter.com/pY6QJ9y59W
— DL🏴 (@D_Lebeau97) June 7, 2020
This one was inevitable, let’s be honest.
Fake Taxi got involved…
edward colston today pic.twitter.com/9alBnSMMHU
— stephen 1312 (@stepheniscowboy) June 7, 2020
I’m just going to leave this one here…
Wiki back at it again
Just a quick screenshot about the Edward Colston statue for posterity, before Wikipedia edits … pic.twitter.com/ZWCcM5EKge
— Stephen McKay (@SocialPolicy) June 7, 2020
Feature image credit: @rhianna_jay, @cher0bia_, @silas.gc0
Related stories recommended by this writer:
• ‘We are here to fight for black lives’: Thousands gather for Bristol Black Lives Matter protest
• ‘I cannot pretend I feel any sense of loss’, says Bristol’s Mayor Marvin Rees on Colston Statue
• Anonymous Bristol Uni students are calling out racism on campus in new Insta page