Current students Simphiwe Stewart (2017), Ndjodi Ndeunyema (2014), and Morategi Kale have featured in the media recently as part of the Rhodes Must Fall Campaign. More than 1,000 people gathered outside Oriel College on Tuesday 9th June to call for the removal of the statue of the Victorian imperialist Cecil John Rhodes.
The statue has caused much discussion and debate in recent years, and after the removal of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol attention switched to other statues, including the one of Rhodes on the Oxford High Street. The Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof Louise Richardson, has warned against “hiding our history” and that the views of the past had to be seen in the context of the time.
Principal Nick Brown said “I am very proud that Linacre students are leading in the discussion of how the University should deal with a complicated history and its modern legacy. I hope that this marks the point from which we can accelerate progress on black and minority ethnic inclusion in the university.”
Ndjodi was interviewed by Sky News about his views earlier this week: https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1270320660234088448
Simphiwe explains why she feels the statue should be taken down in this opinion piece:
Morategi Kale (2019) was interviewed by ITV: https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2020-06-09/demonstrators-call-for-statue-of-colonialist-cecil-rhodes-to-be-removed-from-oxford-university
