Alongside colleagues across the Collegiate University, the undersigned members of the Oxford Department of International Development stand against colonialism and racism. In our research and teaching on the history and persistent inequalities between the global North and South, we, of necessity, engage analytically, theoretically and critically with colonialism and its enduring negative global effects, including and notably racism. We uphold anti-racism as a non-negotiable principle. We believe these core values must lie at the heart of a world-leading educational institution. In upholding these values, we have taken inspiration from our students who have actively promoted anti-colonial and anti-racist initiatives in recent years.

We value Oxford’s traditions and procedures that protect and advance the rights and welfare of its community. At the same time, we believe it is our obligation to counter practices and processes that cause exclusion and discrimination and fail to respect the sensitivities of members of our community affected by the history of colonialism. We acknowledge and celebrate a diverse range of views as to how the University should confront and make reparation for its colonial history. We affirm the right of our members to express these views in a spirit of academic freedom and we stand against media or political efforts to promote misinformation and target individuals for expressing their views.

We feel it necessary to clarify and reiterate our opposition to colonialism and racism in the context of the continuing controversy over the statue of Cecil Rhodes. The statue symbolises the public commemoration and celebration of colonialism at Oxford. Its continued presence, despite all the debates it has generated, represents a refusal to confront Oxford’s long-term legacy of colonialism. The retention of the statue undermines the Collegiate University’s commitment to and agenda for equality, diversity and inclusion. In our work, we are also affected by the reputational damage to Oxford, as we seek to attract students, colleagues and research partners, especially in the Global South. We believe that collective effort of the Collegiate University is required to achieve positive change at Oxford on these issues and we are proud to affirm our commitment to this endeavour.

• Jocelyn Alexander 
• Dominique Attala 
• Kathrin Bachleitner 
• Jessie Barton Hronešová 
• Maxim Bolt 
• Jo Boyce 
• Hanno Brankamp 
• Catherine Briddick 
• Undine Bruckner 
• Natalia Buitron 
• Mihika Chatterjee 
• Simukai Chigudu 
• Robin Cohen 
• Cathryn Costello
• Gina Crivello  
• Dilar Dirik 
• Simone dos Santos  
• Cheryl R. Doss 
• Evan Easton-Calabria 
• Valpy FitzGerald 
• Xiaolan Fu 
• Charlie Garner 
• John Gledhill 
• Marie Godin  
• Douglas Gollin 
• Nandini Gooptu 
• Hannah Greiving 
• Dan Hodgkinson 
• Josielyn Inaldo 
• Anne Irfan 
• David Jackman 
• Aparna John  
• Usha Kanagaratnam 
• Pramila Krishnan 
• Loren B Landau 
• Felicity Leary 
• Francesca Lessa  
• Andonis Marden 
• Andy McKay 
• Nora Novak 
• Derya Ozkul 
• Laura Rival 
• Cory Rodgers 
• Diego Sánchez-Ancochea
• Sophie Scharlin-Pettee 
• Tom Scott-Smith 
• Uttara Shahani 
• Maria Stierna
• Nikita Sud