Statue

Statue of General Redvers Buller, in it's previous ungraffitied state.
#168

A Reverse on Buller

How a Council Rescinded its Decision for Relocating a Statue

By Oliver Anthony 26 February 2021

There is a strange irony in Exeter City Council’s recent reversal of their decision to relocate a statue of nineteenth-century military leader, General Sir Redvers Buller; the man who had already earned himself the nickname ‘Reverse Buller’ for his garish military tactics and organisational failings. On January 12th, 2021, it… Read More

A statue of Robert Towns sits beside a tree.
#6

Robert Towns’ Statue and his Blackbirding Legacy

By Grace Sahota 29 September 2020

We are pleased to present the case on a statue of Robert Towns in Townsville, Australia, as part of a series of in-depth studies for the Contested Histories Initiative. We hope that this series will provide insights and lessons learned for engaging with and addressing instances of disputed historical legacies… Read More

A collection of headlines about the Cecil Rhodes statue controversy at Oriel College in Oxford.
#167

The Legacy of Cecil Rhodes at Oriel College

By Oliver Anthony 13 August 2020

When a protestor left a sign on the doors of Oxford’s University Church reading ‘Rhodes, You’re Next’, there was little doubt that the monumental Black Lives Matter movement, sweeping the world after the death of George Floyd, would next be turning its attention to the statue of the imperialist figure… Read More

A statue of Sir Stamford Raffles in Singapore, with skyscrapers rising in the background.
#138

Monuments Matter

A Singaporean Solution

By Miranda Richman 27 July 2020

We are pleased to present the case on The Statue of Sir Stamford Raffles and His Legacy as part of a series of in-depth studies for the Contested Histories Initiative. We hope that this series will provide insights and lessons learned for engaging with and addressing instances of disputed historical legacies… Read More

After being torn down by protestors, the Minnesota Christopher Columbus statue is loaded up to be driven away

Who will deal with the real issues once the statues are out of sight?

By Steven Stegers & Marie-Louise Jansen 11 June 2020

This week, activists in Europe and the United States attacked statues of historical figures because they are seen as colonialists, imperialists, slave-traders, and racists. Will these symbolic acts result in the structural and systematic changes that are needed?  Steven Stegers, Marie-Louise Ryback-Jansen, 10 June 2020, The Hague/Berlin A monumental movement… Read More

#173

Monuments Matter

A Comment on Bristol

By Marie-Louise Jansen 8 June 2020

Yesterday, protestors in the English port city of Bristol toppled a statue of an 18th Century slave- trader, dragged the life-size bronze through the streets, and heaved it over a stone embankment into the Bristol harbour. Hundreds of Bristol residents looked on and cheered. (See appended link). The statue’s unauthorized… Read More

Frank Rizzo Statue at Philadelphia's Municipal Services Building
#192

Monuments Matter

A Comment on Philadelphia

By Marie-Louise Jansen 2 June 2020

A day after this blog post was originally published, the statue was removed. For details see local news report at NBC Philadelphia.  During this past weekend , the city of Philadelphia, like dozens of cities across America, erupted in mass protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, an… Read More

#168

Redvers Buller Statue in Exeter, England

United Kingdom

By Jade

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests, the statue of General Redvers Buller was reviewed by the Exeter City Task Force and slated for removal. This was due to Bullers controversial historical role in the South African War (1899-1902). This decision to remove the statue received mixed reactions and spurred… Read More

#228

J. Marion Sims Statue in New York

United States of America

By Jade

In Central Park in New York, New York, a statue of physician J. Marion Sims was raised in 1934. Sims was credited with highly impactful procedures in gynaecology; However, many of these procedures were generated by conducting surgery on enslaved Black women without anaesthesia. Local activists began calling for the… Read More

Equestian Statue of Habib Bourgiba waving
#154

Habib Bourguiba Statue in Tunis

Tunisia

By Jade

After 30 years since the statue of Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba was removed, it returned to central Tunis in June 2016. The return of the statue was intended to be a grand gesture of patriotism, around which all Tunisian’s could unite. It became clear, however, that the move was… Read More

#142

Statue of Peace in Seoul

South Korea

By Jade

The Statue of Peace in Seoul, South Korea, is among the most iconic and contested statues dedicated to ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for women who were sexually exploited by the Japanese military during the Second World War. Since its unveiling in 2011, the statue has been a source of ongoing… Read More