The Principal and Junior Common Room (JCR) of the College have made the following statements:
“The Black Lives Matter protests that have followed the appalling killing of George Floyd on 25 May have drawn urgent attention to the systemic racism faced by black people across the globe. St. Hugh’s College is committed to anti-racist values and we affirm this commitment in a spirit of humility, fully acknowledging that the College has to do far more to support and protect our Black and all our Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students and staff. These words must and will be followed by actions and in the coming days and weeks we will be listening and working hard to ensure that immediate practical steps are taken to address and eradicate racial discrimination and racial inequality in its many forms wherever it occurs within our community.”
Elish Angiolini, Principal
“As part of our charity election, St Hugh’s JCR has voted for the Louisville Community Bail Fund and Black Visions Collective to receive £1834, split equally between them.
Given the inextricable connection between these charities and the Black Lives Matter movement, it seems appropriate to reaffirm this JCR’s opposition to racism alongside these donations.
The JCR was appalled by the murder of George Floyd, and the donation to the Louisville Community Bail Fund reflects our dismay at the continuing injustices perpetrated by police against protesters in the USA. We recognise these events as the latest manifestation of systematic, institutionalised racism that exists not only in the USA, but here in the UK and indeed everywhere else.
Our college has a radical tradition of fighting for equal opportunities, and St Hugh’s JCR support the ongoing efforts to achieve equality for Black people, unequivocally rejecting racism and discrimination of all kinds. Furthermore, we regret the ignorance and apathy that these events have revealed in some quarters. We stand in solidarity with the Black members of our college and university communities.
With this in mind, the JCR committee urges all members of our JCR to take this opportunity to utilise the resources at our disposal, in order to better ourselves and capitalise on this opportunity for positive action. It is important that we are not complacent in acknowledging our privilege as the majority of students at Oxford continue to be beneficiaries of racial inequality. To this end, we implore all members of the JCR and wider college community to make tangible contributions to the movement for change.”
Junior Common Room, St Hugh’s College
