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Post Student Protests, Controversial Rhodes Statue Stays

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

An update now on Rhodes Must Fall - that's the student protest movement at Oxford University calling for a statue of Cecil Rhodes to come down. Rhodes endowed the Rhodes Scholarship but also laid the groundwork for apartheid in South Africa. Last week, I spoke with Tadiwa Madenga, a campaign organizer.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED BROADCAST)

TADIWA MADENGA: You can remove the statue. You can put it in a museum where you can continue to discuss and debate, but where it is at the entrance of Oriel College, at the very highest position above kings and provosts, is just ridiculous.

MARTIN: Well, Oxford's Oriel College said this past week that the statute will stay where it is and will be accompanied by what it calls a, quote, "clear historical context to explain why it is there." The college went on to state, quote, "recent debate has underlined that the continuing presence of these historical artifacts is an important reminder of the complexity of history and of legacies of colonialism still felt today." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.