Colston's slave-trade legacy should be exposed

I was deeply concerned at the showcase evening held in Colston Hall on May 21, 2009 to find that my wife and myself were the only black people amongst 200 guests.

Whilst the showcase was a celebration of professionalism in delivering the Colston Hall's new foyer on time and on budget, nevertheless, it appeared to exclude Bristol's ethnic minority citizens who would have liked to identify themselves as supporters of the building.

I would like to take this opportunity in establishing whether the name Colston is an appropriate figurehead for our city in the name of arts and culture in 21st-century Bristol. Colston was an 18th-century slave trader who ended the London monopoly of the Royal African Company; effectively and single-handedly he is credited with opening up the slave trade to Bristol.

Colston loaned the city corporation money. He was also an MP, a burgess of the city and member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. He is heralded as a benefactor of charitable causes and a Founding Father of the city.

As Bristol's first Honorary Freeman of the city, I feel I have a personal duty to bring to the attention of all the city's councillors, the need to expose Colston's legacy, which is driven through misunderstanding and political bias.

How many citizens, black and white, are aware of the name of Dr Thomas Clarkson? Thomas Clarkson was an Anglican priest who risked his life, coming to Bristol to collect evidence of the scourges of slavery which was ultimately to give William Wilberforce the ammunition to have slavery abolished in Parliament in 1807.

I have no doubt that Clarkson should be hailed as a great human rights activist in bringing attention to the inhumane atrocities metered out to enslaved Africans and white sailors of slave ships. The challenge facing Bristol City Council today is whether they will correct this misconception or let it fester in the politics of Bristol's future.

Paul Stephenson OBE,

Honorary Freeman of the City and County of Bristol.