The statue of Edward Colston, originally erected in The Centre in Bristol, England, is of Bristol-born merchant Edward Colston. The bronze statue, created in 1895 by sculptor John Cassidy, on a Portland stone plinth, was designated a Grade II listed structure in 1977.
The statue has been subject to increasing controversy since the 1990s, when Colston's earlier reputation as a philanthropist had come under increasing scrutiny due to his involvement in the Atlantic slave trade. On Anti-Slavery Day 2018 an unofficial art installation was created in front of the statue, depicting a number of supine figures arranged as if they were cargo on a slave ship.
On 7 June 2020, the statue was toppled, defaced, and pushed into Bristol Harbour by Black Lives Matter protesters during the George Floyd protests. The plinth was also covered in graffiti, but remains in place. The statue was recovered from the harbour and put into safe storage by Bristol City Council on 11 June.