By Gavin Mackintosh-
Oxford University, one of the UK’s most prominent institutions of further education, is on the spot on a controversial issue, after a majority of members of Oxford City Council signed a letter urging Oxford University to immediately remove the statue of white imperialist Cecil Rhodes.
Twenty-six councillors signed a letter objecting to the monument Oriel College’s monument , which is an early architect of South African apartheid, was not compatible with the city’s “commitment to anti-racism”.
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The call is consistent with the campaign to remove the statue in the wake of calls to eradicate symbols of colonialism from respectable institutions. It follows wide demonstrations in association with black lives matter, after the killing of a black man,Gorge Floyd, by a police officer who kept his knee on Floyd’s neck, despite pleas that he could not breath.
A peaceful demonstration is planned in front of the Rhodes statue on Tuesday, part of the city’s response to the growing Black Lives Matter movement which began in the US and saw more than 200 marches take place across the UK over the weekend.
The statue of Rhodes, who argued of the supremacy of the Anglo-Saxon master race, has long been a point of contention outside the college since 2015 when a campaign demanded the figure b removed from its position over its underlying racist connotations.
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At the time, the university refused to remove the sculpture – instead opting to add “a clear historical context to explain why it is there”.
A petition signed by thousands of activists said: “We are reigniting the calls for the statue to be removed, as soon as possible.
“As long as the statue stands the University is only alienating those of whom Rhodes’ beliefs have persecuted and oppressed to this very day”.
The Rhodes Must Fall Oxford campaign group, alongside other student groups, argue that the university has “failed to address its institutional racism” and the impact on students and the city.
Liberal Democrat education spokeswoman Layla Moran, who is MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, said: “The statues of white supremacists and slave merchants should not still be standing in our cities. That’s why the statue of Cecil Rhodes must come down.
“I’m not endorsing vigilante action, but I would urge Oriel College in the strongest terms to think about what message this statue sends in 2020, and to remove it.”
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