ALL street names are to be reviewed in Brighton and Hove in light of the Black Lives Matter movement.
The leader of the council has said it will be reviewing all plaques, monuments, statues and street names to ensure they “reflect the city’s values”.
Labour councillor Nancy Platts made the announcement amid anti-racism protests across the UK in which a slave trader’s statue in Bristol was torn down and thrown into the harbour.
She said: “The Black Lives Matter movement has rightly shone a spotlight on colonial statues and street names in the UK and elsewhere in the world.
“In Brighton and Hove we’re currently reviewing all plaques, monuments, statues and street names on public land to ensure that we’re celebrating legacies that reflect our city’s values.
“We will seek to remove any statues or monuments with clear associations with enslavement or plantations.
“We will talk with the council’s BME Workers Forum, our local BAME communities and historians to ensure we fully understand the history of our statues and street names and we’ll work collaboratively to commission new street art installations which celebrate the Black community.
“I would like people to contact me directly if they are aware of any statues, monuments, street or building names which cause them concern.
“We’re also aware of two plaques that have been identified on a website for removal.
“These are on private property.
>> SEE ALSO: Brighton’s next Black Lives Matter protest leaders speak out
“We’ll be contacting the owners to ask them to consider their appropriateness.”
Anti-racism protests have taken place across the world, following the death of George Floyd.
The African-American, 46, died in Minneapolis, in the US, after a white police officer knelt on his neck.
The incident was captured on video as Mr Floyd yelled “I can’t breathe”.
There is set to be an anti-racism protest in Brighton on Saturday, following a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in the city last Wednesday.
The organisers of the event said: “The fight starts now.
“We may not live in America. We may be able to walk the streets, breathe, look, jog, be in the comfort of our own homes without being killed (the list goes on), but the UK is not innocent.
“This public demonstration will be creating history alongside people globally also responding to the black lives matter movement.
“We will be acknowledging our privileges and supporting those in America who are oppressed more so.
“We will be destroying the facade of Brighton being ‘such an accepting community’ and presenting the horrible truth of racism still lurking explicitly and subtly in the UK today.”
Posters publicising the event have been circulated on social media.
They ask those attending to meet at Brighton Palace Pier at 1.30pm on Saturday, June 13.
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