Considering what the clock actually is, it is astounding that anyone could reasonably seek to justify its display in public. Instead of any historical figure, the clock depicts a dark-skinned child, with bright red lips, complete with leaf skirt and club. That doesn’t necessarily justify them remaining to loom ominously over our public spaces indefinitely, but using the weight of history as a defence probably requires the figures to have made some impression. Whatever you may think about the lengthy list of horrors committed by the likes of Colston, Cecil Rhodes or even General Lee, they were men that existed and had a significant impact on history and the world we live in. It doesn’t signify any greater meaning or context beyond being a horrible, vicious cartoon. Unlike the statues in Bristol, the U.S or London, the ‘Black Boy Clock’ does not remember any important people or historical events. While some local elements might be all riled up and ready to defend a statue to the last, it’s worth taking a step back to consider what the clock actually is. Even the EDL got involved when they were so worried about Antifa taking down a statue of Churchill they decided to fight the police. Over the past few years, we’ve seen the Americans have several riots over the removal of Confederate statues, while Bristol had a moment in the international limelight last June when residents chucked Colston in a canal. The 18th century ‘Black Boy Clock’ overlooking the top of Stroud town, Photo by Brian Robert Marshall
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