Slavery and Collective Memory: The Case of Liverpool’s Statue of William Huskisson

Abstract

In 1982, residents of Liverpool pulled a statue of William Huskisson from its plinth. Today, a plaque at the site states that the sculpture was removed by “activists offended at Huskisson’s role in supporting slavery.” Less than a mile away, however, one finds Huskisson’s effigy, re-erected, with no reference to slavery. This article traces the history of the rise, fall and rise of the Huskisson statue. It concludes on how collective memory shapes the urban landscape and informs interaction with it. It also reflects on the nature of memory conflicts and the processing of unresolved events in the past.