Oxford University Votes to Remove Its Controversial Statue of Victorian Imperialist Cecil Rhodes in the Wake of Mass Protests

An Oxford University college has
voted to remove its controversial statue of Victorian imperialist
Cecil Rhodes following mass demonstrations campaigning to take it
down.

Cecil Rhodes believed in the
primacy of the white race and helped Britain colonize much of
southern Africa. Oriel College’s decision is the culmination of
years of pressure from groups declaring that “Rhodes Must
Fall.” Protests outside the
college had ramped up in the past two weeks amid a wider public debate about
monuments to racist historical figures, and the recent Black
Lives Matter demonstrations across the UK.

But this isn’t the end of the
conversation. While the college’s governing body says in a
statement that they have “expressed their wish” to remove the
statue, they are setting up an independent commission to manage
that process and “the issue of the Rhodes legacy,” as well as to
improve access and attendance of Black, Asian, and ethnic minority
students and faculty.

A spokeswoman for the college
tells Artnet News that the commission will determine the next
steps, including when the statue will be removed, and where it will
be placed. “We hope to be in
a position to reveal more details about the commission, its terms
of reference and members over the coming weeks,” the spokeswoman
says. The statement from the governing body says that the
commission will report back
by the end of the year.

“I welcome the news that Oriel
College have come to the view that they would like the statue and
plaque of Cecil Rhodes to be removed,” the leader of Oxford City
Council, Susan Brown, says in a statement, adding that the city
council will accept an early application for planning permission to
remove the sculpture from the façade of the Grade II-listed
building.

“Oriel’s formal review into the
issues surrounding the statue and how to take forward the college’s
commitment to diversity will be an opportunity for everyone to have
their say on where this statue will best be curated in the future,”
Brown says. The council head had previously suggested the Ashmolean
Museum of Oxford as a suitable place to display the
statue.

Last week, the university’s
network of Black and minority ethnic staff expressed solidarity
with the campaign to remove the sculpture, as well as address other
ways the university can decolonize its built landscape, social
structure, and curriculum. The network wrote a letter to the
university’s vice chancellor asking for concrete steps to address
these points including increasing diversity and reforming the
curriculum towards more inclusive content. The university will be
giving a formal reply in due course.

The post Oxford University Votes to Remove Its Controversial
Statue of Victorian Imperialist Cecil Rhodes in the Wake of Mass
Protests appeared first on artnet News.