Thousands of Glaswegians have joined in on fresh calls to rename the city streets which carry the names of slave owners.

A petition which was initially launched nine months ago has seen support sky-rocket in 24 hours as the number of signatures rose from less than 100 on Wednesday to more than 3000 on Thursday morning.

Several city centre streets carry the names of tobacco traders who benefitted from the transatlantic slave trade including Andrew Buchanan, John Glassford, Archibald Ingram and James Dunlop.

Other streets such as Virginia, Jamaica, Tobago and Antigua streets reference the locations of their estates and trading partners from which they profited.

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The change.org petition calls for streets including Glassford, Ingram and Buchanan Street to be renamed in order to “take these tobacco lords off the pedestal they seemingly stand on and instead recognise other Scottish activists who are deserving of such esteem.”

At the end of 2019, Glasgow City Council launched a major academic study into Glasgow’s historic links to transatlantic slavery and the role the city played in the slave trade.

It is understood that a public consultation will be held based on the findings of the study in which names of places and buildings will feature.

A spokesman for Glasgow City Council said: “Late last year, Glasgow became the first local authority in the UK to commission an in-depth academic study of its city’s links to transatlantic slavery. That work is ongoing.

“Once complete, a public consultation will be launched to determine how the city should respond to the findings – giving a voice to Glasgow’s people and, in particular, those whose lived experiences are a legacy of colonialism.”

However, Zandra Yeaman, campaign officer for the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER), highlights concerns that simply changing the names may promote a further erasure the role Scotland had in slavery. 

She said: "There are street names, places and statues not only in Glasgow but all over Scotland that honour men who made their fortunes through slavery and colonisation.

"CRERs concern about changing names is it would be an easy way to erase the history and the legacy of racial hierarchy and racism these people used to justify their greed.

"We already have a problem with amnesia on Scotland’s role in slavery without helping it develop further."

Instead, CRER campaigners believe it is essential to educate the public about this history in order to resolve racial inequalities. 

The campaign officer added: "Whilst something needs to be done at each named location to inform people about the individuals concerned, money would be best placed in creating a dedicated National Museum telling the full stories of  Scotland’s ‘unvarnished’ history.

"A place that children as well as adults could go to deepen our understanding of the past.

"We cannot expect to resolve the racial inequalities persisting today without understanding the history that brought us to this point."

As the public turns its focus towards the standing against the systemic racism in UK society, another petition launched by a Glasgow woman is urging for black Scottish history to be incorporated into school curriculums.

READ MORE: Teach black Scottish history petition in schools reaches over 7000 signatures

The petition, launched by Jessica Cochrane, has racked up more than 8000 signatures calling on the Scottish government to include Scotland's colonial past and the lives and experiences of black people in Scotland into the Curriculum for Excellence.

Cochrane plans to hand the petition to education secretary John Swinney, Education Scotland and first minister Nicola Sturgeon.