Bristol University set to review building names and logos which have links to slave traders
Bristol University could rename Wills Memorial as a review into the names of its buildings and logos starts.
Professor Hugh Brady, vice-chancellor and president, acknowledged racism was 'still very much part of everyday life' and he was going to take an 'active' part in eradicating it.
Edward Colston's picture currently appears on the university crest.
The Wills Memorial Building is named after Henry Overton Wills III, whose family made their money from tobacco which was farmed in America by slaves.
Henry Overton Wills became the university's first chancellor and gifted it £100,000 in the 1870s. This would now be worth around £10.5 million.
The announcement follows campaigners at a Black Lives Matters protest tearing down a statue of Colston and throwing it in the harbour on Sunday last week (June, 7).
In a joint statement, Mr Brady and Professor Judith Squires, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Provost said: "We are aware that racism is still very much part of everyday life for many people in our community.
"We must all make the effort to learn, understand and take action to bring about real change and dismantle racism in our community.
"We know that the Black Lives Matter campaign has served to amplify existing concerns about the University’s history and whether we should rename the Wills Memorial Building, and other buildings named after families with links to the slave trade."
In the past five years the university has seen a 44 per cent increase in BAME student enrolments and leaders say they are committed to continuing this work to further diversify their intake.