Protesters chanted "Take it down" and "Decolonise", and held placards urging "Rhodes Must Fall" and "Black Lives Matter" beneath the statue at Oriel College. The "Rhodes Must Fall" movement, which began in South Africa, failed in a previous attempt to have the statue removed but has been revived by a wave of anti-racism protests. Sylvanus Leigh, 44, said the limestone statue of the Victorian-era tycoon, who founded the De Beers diamond company in what is now Zimbabwe, represented "a colonial mindset". The care worker told AFP he could think of more deserving candidates for a statue. The leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, said it would be a "good thing" if Oriel, which was founded in 1326, applied for permission to remove the statue.

Source: News 24 June 09, 2020 20:03 UTC