A third blue plaque to commemorate Leeds man David Oluwale is set to be unveiled this weekend - months after the first two plaques were torn down. The new permanent plaque will be revealed on October 23 at a ceremony beginning at 1pm on Leeds Bridge.
The plaque was put in place to honour David Oluwale, who moved to the city from Nigeria in 1949 in the hopes of pursuing a better life. But he was sadly hounded to his death near Leeds Bridge by two police officers who targeted him for his race, mental health and homelessness.
Read more: 'We feel afraid of those in power': Life in Leeds' Black communities in 2022
The first plaque was put in place on April 28, but was ripped down just hours later leaving the city horrified. West Yorkshire Police launched an investigation into the hate crime and a temporary replacement was put in place by Councillor Jonathan Pryor and Councillor Abigail Marshall.
However, that was then ripped in half by vandals leading to Mr Oluwale’s face being amplified on screens, badges and digital billboards across the country, as the city said no to “hateful bigotry.”
Leeds Civic Trust previously told Leeds Live they would "keep replacing the plaque no matter how many times it is pulled down".
Councillor Jonathan Pryor has said the ripped up plaque would be to be added to the Leeds City Museum collection, to be part of the 'Overlooked' exhibition, aiming to tell and exemplify stories in the city's history that are perhaps not well-known or told.
Cllr Pryor said: “Over the next few days and weeks (after the original plaque was vandalised) we saw how the racist act of a theft and the ripping down of the temporary plaque sparked such a push back from the city, and images of David’s plaque filled social media, cinema screens, badges, pretty much every digital billboard in the city and more.
“A racist act which amplified an anti-racist message, with Leeds united in loudly saying no to hateful bigotry. They can take down a plaque but they can’t silence the message.
“Today I’ve officially signed over the torn plaque to be added to the Leeds City Museum collection, to be part of an exhibition next year called “overlooked” - telling and amplifying overlooked stories in our cities history.
The public are invited to the unveiling of the new permanent plaque this Sunday, October 23.
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