THERE have been renewed calls to re-examine Scotland’s role in the transatlantic slave trade in the wake of the global Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the killing of American George Floyd two weeks ago.

Petitioners lobbied Glasgow City Council calling for street names memorialising slave traders in the city to be changed.

But Anne McLaughlin, SNP MP, who had initially backed the plans, has made a u-turn, acknowledging that renaming Glassford, Buchanan, Ingram and Gordon streets, would “erase our history”.

Instead she called for the addition of plaques “explaining who they were, how many slaves they owned and how much money they made from them.”

Last weekend, ahead of Sunday’s Black Lives Matters protest in Glasgow Green, anti-racist campaigners placed placards under street names that have links to the slave trade, replacing them with the names of black activists, slaves and victims of police violence.

Cochrane Street - named after Andrew Cochrane, an 18th century tobacco tycoon- was renamed Sheku Bayoh Street.

Buchanan Street, named after a slave owner, became George Floyd Street, while Wilson Street was rebranded Rosa Parks Street, after the American civil rights activist.

READ MORE: 'Without slavery Glasgow wouldn't exist': The brutal truth about Scotland's slaving past

Barrington Reeves, the organiser behind Sunday’s demonstration that saw thousands of peaceful protestors unite against racism, told The Herald: “I don’t think [changing the street names] does anything to help solve the problem, instead we should be addressing Glasgow’s links to the slave trade. We need education - erasure is almost more damaging than them being there in first place.

“A lot of racism in Scotland is born out of sheer ignorance. There are far more constructive ways to educate people than removing names and pulling down statues.”

Glasgow City Council confirmed yesterday that banners from the protest will be preserved to display in the future.

Speaking on the street name campaign Labour MSP, Anas Sarwar, said: “I would rather our energy was spent on campaigning to eradicate racism now. I think it’s important, though, that we recognize our history.

“The bigger structural issues that are happening in our education system, our employment system, our criminal justice system is a much much more important campaign that we should be looking at.”

The local authorities in Glasgow and Edinburgh, cities which benefitted from slavery for centuries, are conducting a review of how historical figures with links to the slave trade are depicted.

Sir Geoff Palmer, Professor Emeritus at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, was involved in a consultation two years ago on adding a plaque to the statue of Henry Dundas, the 1st Viscount Melville and the man who delayed the abolition of slavery for 13 years, in the capital.

READ MORE: Calls for anti-racist education to be taught in Scottish schools

Scotland’s first Black professor criticised City of Edinburgh council for reaching no agreement.

He said: ”I can’t accept a plaque that does not have ‘slavery’ on it.

“The council leader has said on Twitter that he will discuss the plaque with other councillors today.

“What is sad about this is that when the black public sees something like this, should they be surprised the attempt to find any form of reparation or justice has been delayed so long?”

Previously Sir Palmer told BBC Scotland that he didn’t want existing statues to be taken down.

He said: “My view is you remove the evidence, you remove the deed. The past has consequences and a lot of people forget that. Racism is a consequence of the past.”

His remarks came after protestors pulled down a controversial statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, before throwing it into the harbour on Sunday.

The move was condemned by Westminster, with Boris Johnson calling it “a criminal act” despite police deciding not to intervene.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said: “People can campaign for the removal of a statue but what happened was a criminal act and when the criminal law is broken that is unacceptable.”