Rhodes must fall

Last week Oriel College, Oxford confirmed that a monument commemorating Cecil Rhodes, a 19th century British imperialist, would remain despite a massive movement by students seeking the removal of the statue. Like many of the students at Oxford University, I’m disappointed by the college’s decision which goes against the views of the university’s student union. Rhodes must fall, and be moved to a more suitable location – the dark and dusty corner of a museum.

Our universities and society are in dire need of decolonisation. And I don’t think Oriel College’s decision to keep the statue of Rhodes in place while adding what it calls “clear historical context to explain why it is there” goes far enough.

Cecil Rhodes was a tyrant and a racist, exploiting the people of southern Africa through the operations of the British South Africa Company. Those immortalised in stone are usually the heroes or innovators of our past. In hindsight, Rhodes represents the worst of the British empire and by removing the statue we can begin to reconcile ourselves with our country’s dark past.

Maybe Imperial could start by changing it’s name

Some have argued that as a historical artefact, removing his likeness is an attempt to “cleanse history.” What it will actually do is “recontextualise iconography celebrating grave injustice,” moving and presenting it in a way which fully condemns Rhodes’ actions.

We should be remembering the millions of victims of the British empire – those who our ancestors killed and enslaved around the word – not the man who subjugated them. And we can do that by erecting a statue of those he exploited as a replacement.

It’s interesting that so many have come out to attack the Rhodes Must Fall campaign. The university’s chancellor, Lord Patten, suggested that students with such views “should think about being educated elsewhere”, and Harry Mount, writing for The Daily Telegraph (always the voice of reason), described the students taking part in the movement as “a generation raised to believe that their feelings are all that matter”. The real problem is their generation; they seem happy for institutional racism to remain.

Unfortunately, the reaction to Rhodes Must Fall is part of a greater problem – Britons are not educated about our colonial past. A recent survey by YouGov revealed that a staggering 59% thought the British Empire was something to be proud of. Only 19% said they were ashamed. On the empire’s legacy, 49% said countries were better off colonised compared with 15% believing that they were worse off.

It seems that Britain is a nation of imperial apologists. We should not celebrate the instability we have left behind, destroying once proud nations for our own economic gain.

Britain needs to wake up to the fact that the world still continues to suffer from the consequences of the colonial project. By promoting the voices and stories of the oppressed, we can begin to make amends and make students feel welcome at their own university.

Maybe Imperial could start by changing it’s name to something that isn’t a daily reminder of our colonial past.