More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside a college of Oxford University on Tuesday, demanding the removal of a statue of 19th-century British colonialist Cecil Rhodes.
Organizers from the Rhodes Must Fall campaign group drew chalk crosses on both sides of the street as people gathered around the college’s entrance, according to the BBC.
Protesters chanted, “Take it down” and held silence for 8 minutes, 46 seconds to honor George Floyd, which was the same length a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck before he died. Peter Hitchens, a prominent conservative columnist for Mail on Sunday, was among the very few in the crowd who did not take a knee.
Hundreds of people took a knee on Oxford High St for 8 mins 46 secs.
Everyone except Peter Hitchens ? #RhodesMustFall pic.twitter.com/qYulcpvXiZ
— Rabyah Khan (@Rabyah_Khan) June 9, 2020
The protest was one of many in places across the world following Floyd’s death on Memorial Day, which has spurred renewed calls for police reform and fighting racial inequality. Symbols of what protesters consider representations of racism or historical oppression have become the target of vandalism and campaigns to remove them out of public sight.
Campaigners say Rhodes represents white supremacy, colonialism, and racism.
Hitchens came to watch the demonstration and called Rhodes a “scoundrel” who could not be defended. He also argued that China should be a bigger focus for protesters if they are truly concerned about the threat of colonialism, according to the Mirror. He also defended his right to free speech when his opinions were challenged by a man who said calling Rhodes a “racist” would be more appropriate.
About 240,000 people signed online petitions calling for the Rhodes statue’s removal. A statue of slaveholder Robert Milligan was removed earlier from outside the Museum of London Docklands after London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced any links to slavery should be taken down.
A number of other statues have been vandalized and toppled by protesters in London over the past few days, including those of Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, and Mahatma Gandhi. Similar acts have taken place in the United States.
There have also been fresh moves by leaders in the U.S. to review monuments to historical figures tied to segregation, slavery, and the Confederacy.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam vowed last week to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond. A judge granted a 10-day injunction on Monday blocking immediate removal.
