A controversial plaque commemorating the life of a well-known blackface minstrel will be removed from the seafront following pressure from campaigners.

Thanet District Council has been urged in recent weeks to clear the memorial to James Summerson, best-known as Uncle Mack, from Victoria Parade, Broadstairs.

The authority covered the object last month as it conducted a review into the status of statues and commemorations in the area.

And now it has been revealed that council leader Cllr Rick Everitt has decided to permanently uproot the plaque next Wednesday.

A local authority notice reads: “It could have stayed in place since the plaque represents what was acceptable a hundred years ago.

“However, this might give the mistaken impression that the council condoned this offensive entertainment and its racist overtones.

“It is also important that the leader and the council sends out a clear message to the Thanet community, that it listens and will act to maintain and foster good relations in the community.”

Uncle Mack led a troupe that performed in black face paint in a number of venues across Broadstairs between 1895 and 1948.

The plaque says he "brought joy and laughter" to residents and visitors to the town.

However, a petition calling for its removal was launched last month by activist Rachada Suesat, who said it acts as a "monument to colonial-era bigotry and racism".

He added: “Like similar entertainment at the time, Uncle Mack and his band blacked up in a crude, cruel and demeaning caricature of black people.

"The histories that we choose to celebrate define us as a society, and racism has no place in Broadstairs, Thanet, the UK or the world."

The box used to cover the plaque was also daubed with pink graffiti during a peaceful Black Lives Matter march about a fortnight ago.

Minstrel shows originated in 19th century America, where white men would cover their faces with grease to perform racist depictions of black people on stage.

The notice lists the “raised sensitivities as a result of the Black Lives Matter campaign” as a reason for Cllr Everitt’s decision.

“This plaque has given rise to offence and hurt,” the notice continues.

“The entertainment celebrated by it involved a black-and-white minstrels troupe, in which white entertainers blacked up their faces and behaved with distorted African-American stereotypes.

“Once removed, consideration will be given to the future of the plaque and whether it can usefully be put on display in a museum setting which describes its historical context to act as a lesson for the future.”

Councillors have until next Tuesday to refer the Labour leader’s decision to the overview and scrutiny committee.

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