Critical eye cast on racist symbolism
U.K. statue of Rhodes among removal targets
LONDON — London’s mayor announced Tuesday that more statues of imperialist figures could be removed from Britain’s streets after protesters knocked down the monument to a slave trader, as the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis continued to spark protests around the world.
On the day Floyd was being buried in his hometown of Houston, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was setting up a commission to ensure that the British capital’s monuments reflected its diversity. It will review statues, murals, street art, street names and other memorials and consider which legacies should be celebrated, the mayor’s office said.
International protests of racial injustice and police violence that
Floyd’s May 25 death spurred show no sign of abating.
In Britain, where more than 200 demonstrations have been held so far, people gathered in London’s Parliament Square for a vigil timed to coincide with Floyd’s funeral.
Elsewhere in England, demonstrators gathered to demand the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes, a Victorian imperialist in southern Africa who made a fortune from mines and endowed Oxford University’s Rhodes scholarships.
France has seen nationwide protests calling for greater law enforcement accountability, and more demonstrations were being held Tuesday evening.
Floyd’s death has resonated especially strongly in France’s banlieues, or suburbs, where poverty and minority populations are concentrated.
Statues, as long-lasting symbols of a society’s values, have become a focus of protest around the world.
In London, a statue of 18th-century slave owner Robert Milligan will be taken from its place in the city’s docklands.
In Edinburgh, Scotland, there are calls to tear down a statue of Henry Dundas, an 18th-century politician who delayed Britain’s abolition of slavery by 15 years.
Some historical figures have complex legacies. At weekend protests in London, demonstrators scrawled “was a racist” on a statue of Winston Churchill. Britain’s wartime prime minister is revered as the man who led the country to victory against Nazi Germany. But he was also a staunch defender of the British Empire and expressed racist views.
Khan suggested that Churchill’s statue should stay up.
“Nobody’s perfect, whether it’s Churchill, whether it’s Gandhi, whether it’s Malcolm X,” he told the BBC, adding that schools should teach children about historical figures “warts and all.”
“But there are some statues that are quite clear-cut,” Khan said. “Slavers are quite clear-cut in my view; plantation owners are quite clearcut.”