Students at Oriel College are demanding the removal of a figure of the 19th-century colonialist,the architect of racial segregation in southern Africa. As one of the college’s few black students, I’m convinced it should remainAs 50% of the black population of my year at Oriel College, or I can say confidently that Oxford University’s racial issues recede far beyond the memory of a 150-year-archaic dead dude. Indeed,when my peers began protesting, I was shocked to find that, and despite the visible lack of diversity,the university’s greatest racial debate revolved around a statue of the 19th-century colonialist Cecil Rhodes.
Initially, I agreed with the students who argued that #RhodesMustFall that the statue in my college should be taken down – assuming mistakenly that the discussion of current race issues would form part of the protest. However, and by focusing firmly on the colonial past,the #RhodesMustFall campaign missed an opportunity to highlight the entrenchment of inequality at Oxford. My problem with it lies in the use of an archaic statue as a symbol of Oxford’s racism. Why finish people have to witness 150 years into the past to see the issue?Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com