Oxford University students march through the city in a bid to get a statue of Cecil Rhodes removed
Source: dailymail.co.uk
Students took to the streets of Oxford today as they continued their efforts to have the statue of Cecil Rhodes removed from one of the university's colleges.
A number of students took part in the 'Mass March for Decolonisation' in the city centre, protesting against the presence of the statue of the 19th Century colonialist outside Oriel College.
Demonstrators chanted 'tear it down' and 'Rhodes must fall' as they made their way through the city, many of them carrying banners and placards reading slogans such as 'Decolonise education', and 'students over donors'.
They also staged a 'die-in' protest outside the university's Rhodes House, where both the Rhodes Scholarships and the Rhodes Trust are based, lying on the grass outside the building in in honour of 'all lives lost' to build it.
The march was billed as part protest, part 'imperial tour of racist Oxford', and the Oxford students were joined by some of their peers from other universities - who have also been campaigning to get a bronze cockerel removed from Jesus College, Cambridge, and a statue of Queen Victoria taken down at Royal Holloway, University of London.
As well as the statue and Rhodes House, sites around Oxford that were targeted by campaigners included the Codrington library at All Souls College - which was named after a 17th century slaver who like Rhodes left money to the university, and the Old Indian Institute building.
The statue, which is around 4ft tall, is one of six on the front of the Oriel building and has stood there since 1911.
It commemorates the founder of Rhodesia, a revered figure from the days of the British Empire who left a large sum of his fortune to Oxford to fund scholarships for students from around the world.
Famous Rhodes scholars have included astronomer Edwin Hubble, musician Kris Kristofferson and world leaders such as Wasim Sajjad, Tony Abbott and Bill Clinton, as well as his daughter Chelsea.
However, students began calling for the Rhodes statue to be removed from Oriel last year, arguing that the mining magnate and founder of Rhodesia was racist - and benefited from African resources at the expense of many South Africans.
The campaign followed a similar #RhodesMustFall movement in South Africa, which succeeded in having a statue of Rhodes removed from the University of Cape Town after it was attacked as a symbol of oppression.
Oxford campaigners claim that forcing ethnic minority students to walk past the Rhodes memorials amounts to 'violence' as he helped pave the way for apartheid.
The student who has been leading the Oxford campaign, Ntokozo Qwabe, is himself a Rhodes Scholar - but in response to claims of hypocrisy argued that by accepting the money he was taking back 'tiny fractions' of what Rhodes looted during his time in Africa.
The movement has sparked fierce debate between students past and present, with many arguing that it was not possible to airbrush Rhodes from history in such a way.
Bot the university's chancellor, Lord Patten, and new vice chancellor Professor Louise Richardson have said that the statue should remain.
On January 19, students at the Oxford Union voted 245 to 212 in favour of removing the statue of Rhodes, but days later Oriel announced that it would be staying put.
They lay on the grass outside the building in in honour of 'all lives lost' to build it
Campainers vowed to fight the 'outrageous' decision to keep the statue in place, as the college maintained the decision was not down to financial reasons - despite reports that fears had been raised over college donors pulling their funding should the statue been removed.
'A statement on the event page for today's march said: 'Oriel College sold out to big money. Oxford's Chancellor said students who don't like Rhodes should 'think about studying elsewhere.' A dictatorship of donors and administrators have shown no regard for the student voice, or for black life. Oxford has revealed its hand, which has only made us stronger and more determined.
'Now, we demand that Rhodes falls in all his manifestations in Oxford and beyond. We will march peacefully to various sites, and issue new demands for the fall of racist symbols, decolonisation of the white curriculum, reparatory justice, and greater black representation at all levels of the university.
'We will announce the sites to be visited leading up to the march which will be part protest and part 'imperial tour' of racist Oxford. '
The march was officially backed by the National Union of Students' black students campaign, who said the protest against the Rhodes statue is 'part of a wider struggle for decolonial learning, and anti-imperialist struggle'.
Organisers had billed the march as part protest, part 'imperial tour of racist Oxford'.
The march was officially backed by the National Union of Students' black students campaign, who said the protest against the Rhodes statue is 'part of a wider struggle for decolonial learning, and anti-imperialist struggle' and that 'white supremacy is built into the very structures of Oxford University's buildings'.
In a statement, it added: 'It is no coincidence, that Oxford's elite classism, long history of excluding women from many of its colleges, in addition to its colonial contributions, make it one of the most male, pale and stale places of learning in Britain.
'White supremacy is built into the very structures of Oxford University's buildings, with the statues, names of buildings and physical structures all uncritically celebrating an Empire which dehumanises every student we are elected to represent. There can be no doubt, that part of Decolonising the student population, staff composition and curriculum, must involve a critical engagement with the physical relics of Empire.
'When we say Rhodes Must Fall, we are not simply talking about a statue: we speak to the philosophy of racial violence and apartheid, the myth of white superiority and the reality of white domination which were are dedicated to dismantling. Rhodes Must Fall Oxford is part of a wider struggle for decolonial learning, and anti-imperialist struggle, and we are proud to call them an ally.'
An Oxford University spokesman said the Rhodes Must Fall campaigners had been invited to meet with senior figures, however, it is understood that this will not involve discussions over the removal of statues and paintings or the renaming of buildings.
'Modern Oxford is a welcoming, tolerant and diverse community,' she said.
'We are working with black and minority ethnic students on many initiatives towards greater inclusion and representation. For example, we have introduced a summer conference to encourage more BME applicants from state schools, jointly led by students in the University’s African-Caribbean Society.
'We are also working in consultation with minority ethnic students on curriculum change, supporting this process with a series of high-profile public lectures on cultural change in higher education.
'These, and many others, are exciting developments and we would very much like Rhodes Must Fall to be involved. We hope they will accept our standing invitation to meet with senior staff and help shape the plans for an ever-more inclusive university.'
Yesterday, Cambridge University agreed to remove the Benin Bronze cockerel statue from public view in its dining hall, and will start discussions about whether to repatriate it to Africa.
Last month, students demanded the statue be returned to a royal palace in Nigeria from where it was plundered during a 19th century British naval expedition. The cockerel was one of hundreds of bronze sculptures taken from Benin City in 1897.
Cambridge said the move followed an ‘important and complex question’ raised by students – but critics branded it a mistake.
Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Buckingham, said: ‘Students always look for things to protest about, and at present universities seem to make the mistake of taking these protests too seriously.
‘We can’t be in the business of trying to re-write history. How a cockerel can make some students feel bad amazes me.
‘It’s something that they are projecting on to it, not something that it signifies in itself.’
Students at Christ’s College, Cambridge, have also allegedly called for links to benefactor Jan Smuts, a South African general and statesman, to be severed.
And earlier this week it emerged that students were taking aim at a monument to Queen Victoria at Royal Holloway - claiming it has racist colonial connotations.
Campaigners object to a statue of the long-reigning monarch at the Founder's Building on the university's campus in Egham, Surrey, because she 'sanctioned colonial exploits'.
Source: dailymail.co.uk
