Anticolonial hero statue to occupy Trafalgar Square fourth plinth from September – Antelope by Samson Kambalu depicts John Chilembwe wearing hat in defiance of colonial rule in Nyasaland, now Malawi

8 comments

1. Honestly, that’s a pretty cool choice. Subtle but strong and encourages learning about it.

2. Presumably all the people who like to be reminded of history by statues will love this!

   Edit: it seems not, fancy that!

   Edit: lol 20% upvoted

3. I don’t really get why we would have a statue to somebody in the UK who didn’t want to be identified with the UK? Like Malawi should definitely celebrate this guy a lot! But it just seems kind of weird to erect a statue in London to somebody who apparently desperately didn’t want to be part of the British empire?

   It’s like if Scotland got independence, and then 200 years later we put up a statue to Nicola Sturgeon in Trafalgar Square… it’s just weird

4. What’s next a statue of Hitler outside a synagogue? Where does it all end

5. Thank f- that ice cream is on its way

6. Bobby Sands next!

7. Ask yourself a simple question: Why shouldn’t a city, the majority of whose inhabitants have a non-British background, not have non-British public symbols?

   No reason at all. Members of the indigenous population offended by this kind of thing have to just get to realise that what was is no longer and demographic change has radically and fundamentally altered the population and how it thinks.

8. They should really have a statue of the former dictator Banda, to remind people that just because someone looks like you, it doesn’t make them your friend.