Anti-colonial protestor on a post imperial plinth: John Chilembwe in Trafalgar Square

Why are monuments and memorials erected to people, invariably men? Why are many streets named after people from the past?  Who has agency to do this, and how long should monuments, memorials, street and building names remain in place?  When should monuments be taken down or used for another purpose?   These are old questions given new life with recent arguments over Britain’s imperial past and whether monuments to Rhodes and Colston ‘must go’.  This talk will include another point of dissension, the new temporary monument displayed on the Fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square to John Chilembwe, an African protestor to British colonial rule.  And as part of that ongoing debate, we could consider the merits and otherwise of monuments and memorials in Sevenoaks, or their absence.