Let me start off by stating
categorically that I am not a racist in any way and I do not agree with or
condone the actions of the apartheid government of South Africa. But I am also
someone who has a big big problem with and anyone who thinks we can or should
ignore the past.
This is why I have a
problem with the campaign to remove Cecil Rhodes’ statue from the front of
Oriel College Oxford.
I can understand why of
course the students who have started this campaign have started it. I can
imagine it must be hard to walk past it every day. But let’s be honest for a
minute. If we start taking down every statue in Oxford of someone with a dodgy
past or who has done something that will upset someone, then we might as well
start taking them all down. To quote Alexander Pope, to err is human. Yes the
things Rhodes may have done were bad, but nowhere near as bad as the actions of
others.
And let’s look at
exactly what he did. While it is claimed that Rhodes is a founder of Apartheid,
this is not born out by facts. In fact while it is true that he did enact
certain rules during his time as Prime Minister of Cape town, that could be
considered the beginnings of Apartheid, such as restricting who could vote in South
African elections, he was really only one of the architects. Another was
Winston Churchill while he was undersecretary for colonial affaires. And no-one
is going to start calling for the removal of Churchill’s statue from Parliament
Square are they?
Rhodes was no more racist or imperialist than
anyone else at the upper echelons of British society was at that time. In fact
when he died he was buried in what is now Zimbabwe and was the first white man
to ever be given the Ndebele people’s royal salute. To argue that because
Rhodes held view typical of the time his statue should be taken down is about
as fatuous as those suggestions that any buildings or streets in Bristol connected
to slaver be renamed. It’s history. It’s our history. We should learn to
respect it, even if we aren’t proud of it.
In fact if Rhodes is
going to be remembered for anything today, it should be for the scholarship endowment
that bears his name. The Rhodes Scholarship is meant to allow students from
around the world to come and study at Oxford in the hope that they can return
to their native countries and make them better places. In Rhodes words he hoped
that the scholarship would help to “render war impossible.” Notable Rhodes scholars
include former US President Bill Clinton and Bram Fischer, anti-apartheid
activist who incidentally had no problem taking Rhodes’ money and running with
it.
I would argue that any
sins Rhodes may have committed have long since been paid for by the good work
done by Rhodes Scholars. This is what he should be remembered for. As for his
statue, it should be left in peace.
