It's just a massively difficult and nuanced issue and I think anyone who thinks they have a definitive answer is kidding themselves. Yes, there are some relatively clear cut ones I would say - I don't think that many truly shed any tears over Colston himself, but when we start talking about Churchill or Baden-Powell it's clear there are shades of grey. I'll give you another difficult one as a "for instance" - there's a statue of Mohammad Ali up in Liverpool. Ali was associated with racial supremacy movements, actively campaigned against interracial marriages and made racial slurs against opponents. Chuck it in the river?
I think if they are losing hearts and minds simply by concentrating on the past as you put it, then they never really had them. Understand the past, and improve the present/future.
I could also get offended by the statue of the little boy with the leaking boot at Cleethorpes and The Jolly Fisherman at Skegness. The latter is a parody of a gay sailor and is therefore homophobic. It's John Inman-ist at the very least and it gets on my goat. Harrumph !
I’m offended that Dickie Birds statue portrays a white umpire who’s done loads for charities and good causes. There are umpires of other ethnicities who aren't represented. BUM. Black Umpires Matter.
What about John Locke or Samuel Pepys? They were ‘slavers’ never seen any calls for them to be removed.