The motion against Nathan Cofnas’ speech scheduled for November 17th at Oriel College has officially been adopted following an emergency vote held last night at the Common Rooms of Oxford University.
This vote followed growing opposition to the planned visit of the American philosopher known for his controversial claims about “race”. He notably published an article on Substack in 2024, theorising the intellectual inferiority of Black people, stating:“Blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment”.
More recently, he amplified allegations of plagiarism against Jason Arday - the youngest black professor in the University of Cambridge’s history - shortly before he was found dead in August 2026. Professor Arday was cleared for a second time following his death.
More than 29,000 people already signed a petition against the talk, launched by Oxford Students’ Coalition Against Racism in partnership with Black Lives Matter UK. The campaign clearly denounced a “promotion of racist ideas” by Oxford Reform, the society associated with Reform UK and at the source of this invitation.
The impressive participation in the campaign thus led to this “extraordinary Conference of Common Rooms (CCR) meeting” as the Oxford Student official website presents it.
Numerous points were raised especially around the safety of the event knowing that Oxfordshire Stand Up To Racism has organised a protest at the same time as the Cofnas talk.
Guests like Tim Soutphommosane, Chief Diversity Officer, also recalled the case of Jason Arday’s - whose death has not yet been officially clarified - as an example of a tragic end.
However, some argued in favour of freedom of speech, quoting the “Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. Thus, and despite the concerns, there is no mention about a potential cancellation of the talk “Is DEI Undermining Higher Education?”.
A situation that is fuelling the anger of opponents to such an extent that today, the statue of Cecil Rhodes on Oriel College “has had a Ku Klux Klan hood and ‘Racists Welcome Here’ sign” as Oxford Clarion reports.
The final outcome of this controversy remain to be seen.