The sculpture was made by a local watchmaker John Miles in 1774, and in 1844 it was moved to its current site which was once the National School for Girls.
Following the death of George Floyd and Black Lives Matter protest in 2020, Mr Guthrie complained about the statue to Stroud District Council which is now looking into the future of the artwork above the “black boy clock”.
A council report has already concluded that “there is, without any doubt, an association, either directly, or indirectly, with the slave trade and colonialism, and this cannot be ignored”.
The report also found that the piece may be one of only 20 works of its kind in the UK, but campaigners pushing for its removal have sad they are not trying to “erase history”.
The campaign face criticism from local MP Conservative MP Siobhan Baillie, who has faced criticism from anti-racist activists in turn.
The MP has defended her position, stating that: “Any suggestion that I am trying to whip up a culture war is absolute rubbish.”
Source: Telegraph
