Graffiti sprayed on Hoxton museum’s slave trader statue: ‘Blood on his hands is blood of our ancestors’
The gates and statue of slave trader Robert Geffrye were damaged and a message graffitied calling out "the blood on Geffrye's hands". Picture: Robin Priestley - Credit: Robin Priestley
Gates and a controversial slave trader statue at a Hoxton museum have been vandalised.
On the weekend beginning October 18, red paint was used to scrawl a message on the Museum of the Home, known formerly as the Geffrye Museum, on Kingsland Road.
The message read: “The blood on Geffrye’s hands is the blood of our ancestors.”
READ MORE: Backlash as Hoxton’s Museum of the Home announces slave trader Geffrye’s statue will stay putREAD MORE: Hoxton museum’s slave trader statue under specific reviewThe museum’s trustees received backlash in July after opting to leave a statue of slave trader Robert Geffrye up, despite many respondents in a council-led public review asking for it to be removed.
READ MORE: Hackney Council to rename Cassland Road Gardens to sever ties with ‘toxic history’ and slave trader John CassREAD MORE: Protesters clash with Hoxton museum’s board over slave trader Robert Geffrye’s statueA spokesperson for the Museum of the Home said the gates and statue had been damaged over the weekend.
They said: “We are investigating what happened and have reported the damage to the police.
“The board and museum team are continuing to explore a number of options for the statue that are curatorially best suited to the museum and our communities.”
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A Gazette reader sent a picture of the graffiti and red-stained pavement on October 19.
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