In light of the Black Lives Matter protests happening across the world, and the reevaluation, revision, and removal, of statues and other monuments that celebrate and pay homage to political figures who were notorious for advocating for, advancing, and establishing colonialism and all of its offshoots, which include enslavement and racism, I think that it is vital that the people of Guyana are also allowed to be a part of this rising global conversation and this movement that seeks to reshape and refocus elements of national pride, heroes, and the personalities from history that we pay homage to, through the removal of contentious statues and monuments.
Colonialism has shaped much of Guyana’s bloody history (through the suppression of the indigenous peoples, the enslavement of Africans, the indentureship of East Indians, and other forms of oppression).
It is imperative that Guyana is on the right side of the current political movements in the world, and one way of achieving this is to have the relevant authorities begin by committing to the immediate removal of the Victoria statue, which is a symbol of colonialist ideologies, which include oppression, enslavement, and genocide.
There are a number of Guyanese politicians, artists, writers, activists, public servants, martyrs, actors, musicians, rebels, farmers, athletes, and people from other occupations, all throughout our history, who have contributed to this country in meaningful and extremely positive ways; people whom many Guyanese remain unaware of because most of us are denied knowledge of them due to the emphasis being placed on individuals like Victoria every time her statue is seen or mentioned.
In closing, I reiterate that the statue of Victoria, along with other elements of colonialism that are allotted positions of prominence and power within Guyanese society, should be immediately removed/demolished, in the same way that statues of Christopher Columbus, Cecil Rhodes, Edward Colston, Leopold II, and others have been reevaluated and found to be unworthy of such positions within societies across the world.
