In June 2020 the statue of Edward Colston, a 17th Century slave trader, was pushed into Bristol harbour during a Black Lives Matter protest leading to global media attention. The statue was later recovered by the Bristol city council and displayed at a local museum. We speak with Bristol-based history teacher Richard Kennett about his recent book on the Bristol slave trade, how the controversy over Colston was addressed in the classroom as well as the current situation in Bristol and how the city and its people are dealing with a contested past.