Jen Reid (born 2 November 1970) is a British Black Lives Matter activist from Bristol. After the statue of Edward Colston was pushed into Bristol Harbour, Reid stood on the empty plinth and made a Black Power salute. This pose was then recreated in the sculpture A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020.
On 7 June 2020, at a Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol following the murder of George Floyd, a statue of Edward Colston was toppled and pushed into the nearby Bristol Harbour.[1] Seventeenth-century merchant Edward Colston had become a figure of controversy in Bristol due to his involvement in the slave trade.[2][3] Reid stood upon the now empty plinth and raised her fist in a Black Power salute. Her husband took a photograph and posted it on Instagram, and it was quickly transmitted worldwide.[4][5] She later told ITV News "It was a spontaneous action".[4]
Frances Lincoln Publishers announced in 2021 that they would be releasing a picture book made by Reid and US author Angela Joy which is based upon the June 2020 events.[6]ABBC Radio 4 series called Descendants profiled Reid in its first episode in May 2021.[7] A mural featuring a portrait of Reid was painted by London artist Mr Cenz in Stokes Croft.[8]
Having seen the photograph of Jen Reid on social media, artist Marc Quinn contacted her and they agreed to make a sculpture of her recreating the raised fist pose to put upon the still empty plinth.[9] Following a 3D scan of Reid made at Quinn's London studio A Surge of Power (Jen Reid) 2020 was created in black resin and placed upon the plinth on the morning of 15 July 2020.[9][10] Reid told BBC News "This sculpture is about making a stand for my mother, for my daughter, for black people like me".[5] The statue was removed the following day by Bristol City Council.
Reid was born on 2 November 1970.[3] She claims that one of her grandmothers was an enslaved African.[7]
Reid launched a fashion brand called Big Stush in 2022.[11][12] Reid is one of the authors of A Hero Like Me, an illustrated children's book inspired by the events of 7 June 2020 which was published in 2023.[13]
