Countless people from across Leeds were left horrified on Monday night when a blue plaque to commemorate David Oluwale was ripped from its city centre location in Leeds just hours after being unveiled in what police have deemed a hate crime.
Yet in another cruel twist, a temporary replacement plaque installed just yesterday has now also been damaged, leaving residents fuming over the callous and cowardly act.
The original commemorative plaque had been unveiled by Leeds Civic Trust on Monday in memory of David Oluwale, who first moved to Leeds from Nigeria in 1949 in the hopes of pursuing a better life. Sadly while here, he was hounded to his death near Leeds Bridge by two police officers, who targeted him for his race, mental health and homelessness.
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The pair ultimately become the first British police officers prosecuted for their involvement in the death of a Black person.
Rather than let his life and legacy be forgotten, the plaque was chosen to honour David and unveiled at 5pm on Monday. However within mere hours, it had been pried from the wall with a crowbar, with West Yorkshire Police fearing it may have been tossed into the nearby river.
Unwilling to let racism and petty vandalism blight the city, the local community banded together to crowdfund a replacement plaque, which succeeded in reaching its goal in a mere matter of hours.
A temporary plaque was also installed on Wednesday afternoon by Leeds Cllrs Jonathan Pryor and Abigail Marshall Katung who even tweeted photos of the occasion along with the caption “just popped down to Leeds Bridge with @abigailmashall and we’ve fixed a temporary plaque for David Oluwale while we work to get another permanent one back in place. David was persecuted in life, and his story won’t be silenced now.”
However, even this temporary plaque has now been vandalised. There were reports it had been completely stolen but LeedsLive can confirm that half of the temporary memorial is missing.
“Just when you think you can’t be anymore shocked and appalled,” commented Joanna Myers. While Gary Newton said: “What the hell the poor fella was chase to his death and 50 years on he's still getting hounded, show respect to him, David you will never be forgotten God bless you.”
Adam Collinson also added: “They should built a statue instead, or as well. Don't understand why anyone would want to destroy it. It's a peace of history, a reminder and a memorial”
Meanwhile Leeds Civic Trust itself also weighed in tweeting “Just heard reports that @Jonathan_Pryor and @abigailmashall lovely replacement plaque has been torn down…anyway you do you love, you won’t stop us!”
To find out more about David and how vital it is to commemorate his legacy, click here.
To donate to the just giving campaign, click here.
