When I saw protesters tear down the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, I felt that it wouldn't be the last in this wave. It reminded me of a similar swell of anger when, in 2015, students at the University of Cape Town took down the statue of the imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
Since then, further protests at South Africa's universities have defaced more colonial-era statues. At Oxford, in his home country, thousands are protesting peacefully to remove another Cecil Rhodes statue.
Read more: Britain, slavery and unfinished business
Some see it as anti-intellectual to remove any monument and argue that these persons upheld the values of their time.
But what about the values of our times? How much does the past still control our present? At a time when black people are still suffering around the world, these statues — as well as streets named after racists — are not just monuments. They remind racists that those who demonstrated contempt for others are immortalized as bronze or ivory figures. Black people are reminded of the terrible things that racists have done. For me, as a black woman, removing the symbols of racism are necessary acts that should have been done a long time ago.
History is shared
In early June, American archeologist Sarah Parack tweeted her "hot take" on how to pull down an obelisk, sparking a barrage of criticism. Some accused her of encouraging the destruction of history. Others accused her of destroying monuments, like the "Islamic State" has.
Demanding the removal of monuments is nothing like their destruction by IS, which meant to spread fear and execute acts of terrorism. On the contrary, demonstrators are calling for the removal of signs of racial oppression.
Nor does toppling colonial statues erase history. Rather, it is a political protest against the celebration of a common history or present, where one side is still suffering the consequences of that history.
Those who claim that removing statues is the destruction of history are missing the fact that history is shared. There are always two sides — or more.
Take Mohrenstrasse in my home, Berlin. A black friend told me she takes the U2 subway train every day through "Moor Street" station, the street of black people. Mohr is the oldest German word for blacks. It has a negative connotation; historically it was usually used for black servants.
Read more: Does Berlin have racist street names?
My friend said it made her feel bad. She asked, "Why do these names still exist?"
White supremacy embedded
Racism is not history yet. The wound is still open; it has never healed, and it will never heal if parks and universities are decorated with the statues of slave traders and colonialists. Especially when history has shown these individuals were involved in terrible things.
As long as racism threatens our feelings, our opportunities and our lives, such figures can never be history. Removing these symbols, however, can deconstruct racism. People who argue to protect symbols of a racist historical past prevent the future from being better.
Colonial, racist or slavery-era triggers are a visible barrier to decolonization and reconciliation, because they embed white supremacy in public spaces.
The questions of whether colonial statues must fall or street names change is not a matter of history alone. They are key in the process of reckoning with ongoing injustice to work toward decolonizing the future.