Oxford - Energised by the
toppling of a monument to a slave trader in the English city of
Bristol, protesters demanded on Tuesday the removal of a statue
of 19th century British colonialist Cecil Rhodes from a college
at Oxford University.
A wave of anti-racism protests sweeping across the United
States and Europe has reignited a debate about monuments
glorifying Britain's imperialist past, which many people see as
offensive in today's multi-ethnic society.
A previous student campaign in Oxford in 2015, modelled on
the "Rhodes Must Fall" movement in South Africa that led the University of Cape Town to remove its statue of Rhodes that year, failed
to convince Oxford's Oriel College to follow suit.
Demonstrators hold placards as they protest for the removal of a statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes on the outside of Oriel College in Oxford. Picture: Hannah McKay/Reuters
Many academics and public figures oppose the removal of such
statues, arguing they merely reflect history and should be used
as points of discussion.
But dramatic images on Sunday of protesters in the port city
of Bristol tearing down a statue of 17th century slave trader
Edward Colston and throwing it into the harbour inspired
campaigners in Oxford to redouble their efforts with a protest
march on Tuesday.
"This is a symbolic moment where ... peace-loving and
democracy-loving communities around the world are saying 'we
have had enough,'" said Laura Stewart, a PhD student at Oxford
and Rhodes Must Fall activist.
Demonstrators protest for the removal of a statue of British imperialist Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College in Oxford. Picture: Hannah McKay/Reuters
A mining magnate, Rhodes was a central figure in Britain's
colonial project in southern Africa, giving his name to
Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe, and founding the De Beers
diamond empire.
The student campaigners say it is wrong to honour a man who
made his fortune from the exploitation of African miners,
secured power through bloody imperial wars and paved the way to
apartheid with his beliefs and measures on racial segregation.
A student at Oriel in his youth, Rhodes left the college
money when he died and also endowed the Rhodes Scholarships,
which have allowed more than 8,000 students from countries
around the world to study at Oxford over the past century.
His statue stands in a niche high up on the facade of one of
Oriel's buildings, whose construction was partly funded by him.
In a statement ahead of Tuesday's demonstration, the college
said it abhorred racism.
"We understand that we are, and we want to be, a part of the
public conversation about the relationship between the study of
history, public commemoration, social justice and educational
equality," it said.
"As a college, we continue to debate and discuss the issues
raised by the presence on our site of examples of contested
heritage relating to Cecil Rhodes."