#Decolonize calls for dismantling colonial legacies in education, culture, institutions, and power structures — centering Indigenous, Black, and Global South perspectives.
Rhodes Must Fall
The hashtag gained global prominence during South Africa’s Rhodes Must Fall movement (March 2015), when University of Cape Town students demanded removal of a statue honoring British colonialist Cecil Rhodes. The statue was removed April 9, 2015, after massive protests.
The movement spread to Oxford University (UK), where students demanded removal of Rhodes’ statue at Oriel College and curriculum reforms. While the statue remained, the campaign sparked global conversations about decolonizing academia.
Decolonize the Curriculum
The academic arm of the movement demands:
- Centering non-Western thinkers: Philosophy, literature, science beyond European canon
- Critical examination of colonial narratives: History taught from colonized perspectives
- Indigenous knowledge systems: Recognizing epistemologies outside Western academia
- Diversifying reading lists: UK’s SOAS University found 75% of assigned texts by white Europeans
Museum Decolonization
Major institutions faced pressure to return looted artifacts:
- British Museum: Benin Bronzes (stolen 1897), Parthenon Marbles
- France: Benin artifacts returned to Nigeria (2021)
- Germany: 1,100+ Benin Bronzes returned (2022)
- Netherlands: Colonial artifacts repatriation policy (2023)
Land Acknowledgments
The practice of acknowledging Indigenous land ownership before events became widespread in North America and Australia, though critics questioned whether statements without reparations constitute performative activism.
Critiques & Tensions
From the left:
- Performative decolonization without material redistribution
- Tokenism in diversity initiatives
- Co-optation by institutions to avoid structural change
From the right:
- “Cancel culture” / “woke” critiques
- Defense of Western civilization narratives
- Fear of “erasing history”
Key Theorists
- Frantz Fanon (1925-1961): Wretched of the Earth foundational text
- Walter Mignolo: Decolonial turn in knowledge production
- Linda Tuhiwai Smith: Decolonizing Methodologies (1999)
- Eve Tuck & K. Wayne Yang: “Decolonization is Not a Metaphor” (2012)
Global Movements
- India: Removing British colonial place names, celebrating pre-colonial history
- Kenya: Mau Mau reparations campaign
- Canada: Truth and Reconciliation Commission (residential schools)
- Australia: Indigenous voice referendum debates (2023)
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