News 9 June 2020
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Protestors Demand Removal Of Statue Of 19th Century Imperialist Cecil Rhodes In Oxford

9 June 2020
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Hundreds of people have gathered outside Oxford University to demand the removal of a statue of 19th-century imperialist Cecil Rhodes, with over 100,00 people signing a petition for its removal.

Campaigners said that Rhodes, who was a politician and served as a Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (now South Africa) in the 1800s, represented white supremacy and was associated with colonialism and racism.

26 Oxford city councillors have also signed a letter saying that the statue, placed at Oriel College, was “incompatible” with the city’s “commitment to anti-racism”. The Rhodes Must Fall campaign has been reignited after hundreds of Oxford students had previously pushed for the removal of Rhode’s statue in 2016.

This comes after Black Lives Matter protestors managed to pull down a notoriously racist statue in Bristol over the weekend.

The figure of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston was tore down by protestors and tossed in the sea, symbolising victorious history in the making following the Black Lives Matter movement, which has seen people around the world standing together in solidarity to fight against the injustice towards black people.

Calls from protestors have led to the removal of slave trader Robert Milligan’s statue in east London today (June 9th). It comes as another petition was launched to take down all statues of slave traders in the UK, which more information for can be found here.