Today, September 28, 2022, a new statue is scheduled to be unveiled in central London's iconic Trafalgar Square.
But this time, it is neither a memorial to a British monarch nor a war hero. Instead, a massive statue of John Chilembwe, a pan-Africanist and Malawian Baptist preacher who campaigned against British colonial control, will stand in its place.
Antelope, a sculpture, will be the newest addition to the Fourth Plinth in the square, which is one of the most well-known public art commissions in the entire world.
Every two years since 2003, the Fourth Plinth has featured a different work of art.
Due to a lack of funding, it was initially supposed to house a statue of King William IV, but it has since been left vacant and is currently home to temporary artwork chosen by the commissioning committee and the general public.
The five-meter monument of Chilembwe will be the first representation of an African in Trafalgar Square.
Antelope, a bronze statue, recreates the famous portrait of Chilembwe and British missionary John Chorley taken in 1914 outside Chorley's church in the southern Malawian settlement of Mbombwe.
Chilembwe is shown in the image donning a wide-brimmed hat, in violation of a colonial prohibition against Africans donning caps in front of white people.
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