Dear All,

This morning, the Rhodes Birthplace Trust announced its intention to rename the Arts Centre to 'South Mill Arts', with full details of their statement being available here.

I'm delighted, and want to thank everyone for the phenomenal support that we have received over the last two months, since we started this campaign. What started as a small petition in the wake of the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston, developed into a united campaign group with other petition-makers, and has played a part in spawning a committed anti-racist movement in our community, with our friends at Stand Up to Racism having recently established a Bishop's Stortford branch, with a Facebook page here.

This would never have happened without everyone's support, and every single signature has been appreciated enormously, and has helped pave the way for this change to take place. So I wish to thank everyone again for the signing, the writing letters, the petitioning, the protests, and the support.

I hope that with a new name, a name which anti-racists in our community no longer have to be shamed and embarrassed by, the South Mill Arts Centre can be something we are proud of. We should certainly be proud of this campaign, and of the support for anti-racist causes that the community has shown.

If our campaign has proven anything, it is that even in what seems to be the most conservative, most quiet, and most comfortable of Middle England towns, there are people who will fight against the status quo, fight against racism, inequality, and all forms of injustice that has gone unchallenged in the past.

Thank you again.

In Solidarity,

Lukas Ruediger