Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Police scrap plan to rename horse after bus boycott hero
ACOMPETITION which would have seen a police horse named after one of the pioneers of the Bristol Bus Boycott has been dropped by senior police chiefs after a backlash from the black community in Bristol.
It is understood that many of the families of the people who the horse could have been named after had objected privately to the police, and said they didn’t want their names associated with it, while a petition against the scheme was started this week, calling the idea “a disgrace”.
Now police chiefs have said they are “truly sorry”, and dropped the idea after realising that the competition they started had “caused some distress within our communities”.
Many in the black community in Bristol called the idea of having a horse named after a pioneer of the Bristol Bus Boycott “an insult”, and said they “couldn’t believe” the competition, which they said went against the ethos of the bus boycott campaign because it pitted six people against each other in a public vote.
The petition opposed Avon and Somerset police’s plan to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bristol Bus Boycott by giving a police horse – currently called Brutus – a new name after one of six of the black people in Bristol who led the 1963 boycott.
People could vote online and choose between the names of one of eight of the bus boycott leaders as the new name for the police horse.
Those objecting to the idea had two concerns. The first was that it effectively set up a popularity contest that pitted the leaders of the bus boycott, only two of whom are still alive, against each other.
The other objection was more fundamental – that having an animal, which would be ‘ridden and controlled by a police officer’, named after a leader of Britain’s civil rights movement, was insulting to the black community’s struggle over the past 60 years or more.
After the competition was announced, an article in The Voice, Britain’s black newspaper, ridiculed the competition, and our sister website Bristol Live understands that several of the families of those named in the competition told Avon and Somerset police they didn’t want their parent or grandparent to be considered for the ‘honour’.
”Our heroes deserve greater respect and recognition than being reduced to mere names of an animal controlled by the police force and ridden by a police officer,” a petition that started on Wednesday said.
“We know of no black hero that wanted to be ridden by a police officer! The lack of cultural sensitivity displayed by this Avon and Somerset police/Curiosity UnLtd competition is distressing.
“Instead of meaningful tributes to them all, they have chosen a winner-takes-all competition that undermines the unity these heroes showed in 1963. We want Avon and Somerset police/Curiosity UnLtd to know we refuse to consent to the police naming a horse after one of our revered heroes and we reject our heroes having to compete against each other for this misguided honour.
“This competition perpetuates a painful history of police failing to understand our community and its cultural values and also stokes a painful history of division between police and the black community. In so doing this initiative is making Bristol’s black community a subject of ridicule among black communities in other cities,” they added.
With growing discontent, and with the number of families objecting to their own names being used, Avon and Somerset Police decided to pull the competition on Thursday. Chief Inspector Victoria Hayward Melen apologised and said the distress was “wholly unintentional”.
“Our intention had been to honour pioneers’ achievements and be part of Bristol’s 60th anniversary celebrations marking this momentous civil rights moment,” she said.
“However, we are now aware that the competition has caused some distress within our communities, which was wholly unintentional. For this we are truly sorry.
“We are committed to being transparent and accountable to our communities, which means not shying away from admitting where we have got something wrong,” she added.
“One of our force values is learning, which means that we must listen to what our communities tell us about the decisions we make, how they impact on them and how we can work together going forward. Whilst in this situation we recognise that we haven’t got it right, we will take this as an opportunity to reflect and continue conversations with our communities which is so important as we work towards becoming an anti-racist police service. As part of our Race Matters work we’re currently consulting with our communities on changes to policies and procedures which aim to reduce disproportionality and build back the trust and confidence of people who have been harmed by years of traumatic interactions with the police. The learning and feedback we have taken from this situation has only strengthened our resolve and focus to do this work in collaboration with communities we serve,” she said.
“The Bristol Bus Boycott pioneers were striving for positive change and we will best honour their legacy by owning our mistakes and committing to a better future,” she added.
We are now aware that the competition has caused some distress within our communities, which was unintentional CI VICTORIA HAYWARD MELEN