Maqhubela 10 february 2016 oxford universitys oriel college has decided against the removal of the. The origins of the oxford university rhodes must fall. We are already working with students on a range of actions, including diversification of the curriculum and would welcome rhodes must fall s participation. Rhodes must fall is a protest movement that began on 9 march 2015, originally directed against a statue of british imperialist cecil rhodes at the university of cape town in south africa. When students at oxford university called for a statue of cecil rhodes to be. Written by key members of the movement itself, rhodes must fall is the story of that campaign. I do not think it conceivable that the letter was actually written by oriel college, or any authority at oxford. Written by the rhodes must fall movement, oxford a decisive book written by the rhodes must fall movement, offering unparalleled insight into the institutional racism at the heart of empire.
In an opinion piece published by project syndicate, chancellor of oxford university has compared the rhodes must fall rmf movement with the chinese government, arguing that both would display similar mechanisms of suppressing free expression and critical discourse. At oxford, a north philly mans journey winds through a. A movement determined to decolonise the space, the curriculum, and the institutional memory at, and to fight intersectional oppression within, oxford. A primary objective of rmf oxford is facilitating the removal of a statue commemorating rhodes at oriel college. Oxfords response to our campaign has been nothing short of shameful. Oxfords rhodes must fall cofounder in hot water again i. Editors discuss new book on rhodes must fall movement at.
On tuesday, 19th january, the oxford union welcomed a full chamber to its first event of term. Rhodes must fall activists hold oxford anticolonial demo. Rhodes must fall in oxford is an offshoot of its namesake campaign in the university of cape town uct south africa. Jan 21, 2016 an mba student at the said business school, and the president of the oxford university africa society.
Now, though, a campaign calling itself rhodes must fall one of whose founders, ironically, is a rhodes scholar from south africa, ntokozo qwabe has demanded the statues removal. When students at oxford university called for a statue of cecil rhodes to be removed, following similar calls by students in cape town, the. Editors discuss new book on rhodes must fall movement at oxford. Rhodes must fall latest news, breaking stories and comment. It was a signal that symbolic violence and racism are alive and well. If the oxford union is serious about addressing these issues, then it should join the rhodes must fall at oxford movement. Earlier this year, oxford s rhodes must fall cofounder ntokozo qwabe made the news after he revelled in making a waitress shed white tears at a restaurant in cape town. What the reaction to rhodes must fall in oxford tells us. A book titled the same and focusing on oxford came out this year. Nov 07, 2015 oxford students want statue of cecil rhodes removed.
The struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire 1 by rhodes must fall movement, oxford isbn. His subsequent comments following the 2015 paris attacks and behaviour towards a white waitress in south africa were criticised in news and social media, leading to a petition for his removal from oxford which was rejected by the university. We see no reason why here, at the heart of the high street, at the heart of oxford, rhodes cannot also fall. Rhodes must fall and subsequent calls to decolonise the university were dismissed as censorship, identity politics and symptomatic of safe space culture, in this blog, robbie shilliam considers the veracity of this derision. The real meaning of rhodes must fall amit chaudhuri uk. Mar 09, 2016 to mark one year since the rhodes must fall campaign was launched, oxford students offered an alternative sightseeing tour of the city by staging a march and diein protest outside landmarks linked to britains colonial past. All this has given rise to an air of nervousness among some elements of the university hierarchy. Nibbling at resilient colonialism in south africa nyamnjoh, francis b.
Brian kwoba is a doctoral student in history at oxford, whose research focuses on hubert harrison, the caribbeanborn father of harlem radicalism. Oriel college havent completely ignored the rhodes must fall oxford. The rhodes must fall movement aimed to remove a statue of cecil rhodes at oxford university sky news foreign affairs editor sam kiley and social affairs editor afua hirsch both oxford. The book gathers thirtytwo contributions that explore a global student protest movement. The struggle to decolonize the racist heart of the empire, edited by movement leaders of rhodes must fall oxford rmfo, roseanne chantiluke, brian kwoba and athinagamso nkopo, provides a muchneeded intellectual space for movement leaders to give a firsthand account of the protests they organised, the response from authorities and importantly, and uniquely, practical. The letter below came to me from oxford university where i was a postgraduate. The campaign for the statues removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to decolonize education, by inspiring the emergence of allied student movements at other.
Gordon crovitz writes about the campaign by oxford universitys sensitive students to take down a statue of cecil rhodes. Inspired by the rhodes must fall rmf movement, which effectively campaigned to have a statue of cecil john rhodes removed from uct, a group of students in the uk have come together to demand. Rhodes falls at the oxford union the oxford student. Rhodes was a racist colonialist who formed rhodesia, otherwise known as zambia and zimbabwe today, during the 19th century. Rhodes must fall rmf is an international campaign that seeks to decolonise education and eradicate oxford benefactor cecil rhodes legacy of colonialism. Oxford student who led campaign to remove rhodes statue boasts that he refused to tip a waitress because she is white and left her in floods of white tears south african rhodes must fall student. Most mainstream media states that the rhodes must fall rmf movement. A decisive book written by the rhodes must fall movement, offering unparalleled insight into the institutional racism at the heart of empire.
Rhodes must fall in oxford supports and continues this vital work by looking to critically interrogate the colonial relations on which oxford university is founded, not just in africa, but worldwide. Also, as one of our book chapters explains, rhodes must fall oxford really faltered on place of blackness and its relationship to feminist politics within the movement. Oriel, which rhodes briefly attended, is the centre of the fuss because it commemorates him with the statue in question. Mar 04, 2016 sizwe mpofuwalsh is a dphil student in international relations and an organising member of rhodes must fall oxford since its inception, rhodes must fall rmf has bent over backwards to accommodate oxfords ignorance. Oxford university is committed to improving the experience of minority ethnic students at oxford. Jan 23, 2017 an activist involved in the campaign to remove a statue of cecil rhodes from oxford universitys oriel college has been handed a place at the university as a rhodes scholar. Why south african students say the statue of rhodes must fall. The oxford chapter of rhodes must fall took aim at a statue of rhodes that stands on the facade of oriel college, of which rhodes was an alumnus and benefactor.
Rhodes must fall at oxford too africa is a country. Oxford students want statue of cecil rhodes removed the. An mba student at the said business school, and the president of the oxford university africa society. The rhodes must fall in oxford campaign is led by black and minority ethnic students, many of whose experiences lead us to question our own presence at an institution that was not built for us. Hundreds of student protesters rallied at oxford university s oriel college on friday, calling for the removal of a statue of cecil john rhodes, a past pupil and benefactor of the school who. The first focuses on the voices of rmfo members themselves as they called for the removal of the statue of the archimperialist cecil rhodes that still looms over oriel college, while simultaneously demanding that the university. The movement known as rhodes must fall, which began with a protest action at the university of cape town on 9 march 2015 and quickly spread to other campuses in south africa, and then to oxford university, is barely more than a year old. Rhodes must fall campaigner claims waitress comment was necessary the manager came to our table and made a scene.
Ntokozo qwabe born 1991 is a south african rhodes scholar who was one of the founders of the rhodes must fall campaign at oxford university. We are already working with students on a range of actions, including diversification of the curriculum and would welcome rhodes must falls participation. The rhodes must fall in oxford campaign is led by black and minority ethnic students, many of whose experiences lead us to question our own. For this is the beginning of the movement, not an isolated incident that ends with an apology. A movement determined to decolonise the space, the curriculum, and the institutional memory at, and to fight intersectional oppression. Showing the crucial importance of both intersectionality and solidarity with sister movements in south africa and beyond, this book shows what it means to boldly challenge the. Oxford students want statue of cecil rhodes removed the new. Rhodes must fall leader dares whites to have him expelled. He also started the rhodes scholaship for students in oxford so they built a statue of him at one of the colleges of which students are campaigning to have it taken down on the basis of racial glorification. Writing in the daily telegraph, harry mount described oxfords rhodes must fall campaign as the product of a generation raised to believe that their feelings are all that matter, arguing that academics had been too indulgent towards student activists.
Oxford student behind rhodes must fall campaign says he. So, perhaps rhodes might not fall in oxford, but the historical narration of cecil rhodes must be revised in curriculum teaching, campus tour, on the statute and all writings, to include his exploitations, racist land grabs, armed plunder and holding into captivity and servitude nations and peoples of africa. The event brought together seven activists, academics, and journalists on either side of the controversial rhodes must fall movement. Critics have been quick to register their disapproval. Patriarchy always finds a way of blocking progress in these movements through the toxic social dynamics of the movement, the gendering of work and the ideas of leadership and hierarchy that it brings. Oxford hasnt done enough to deserve this good press. When students at oxford university called for a statue of cecil rhodes to be removed, following similar calls by students in. Oxford students call for cecil john rhodes statue to fall. Racism, identity politics and the hidden curriculum. The struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire, editors and members of rhodes must fall oxford roseanne chantiluke, brian kwoba and athinagamso nkopo offer a collection that gives firsthand accounts of the rhodes must fall protests, discusses the response from authorities and explores the practical lessons learned. A 2014 survey conducted by the student unions race equality campaign found that 59% of black and. Jan 29, 2016 now, though, a campaign calling itself rhodes must fall one of whose founders, ironically, is a rhodes scholar from south africa, ntokozo qwabe has demanded the statues removal. The campaign for the statues removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to decolonise education, by inspiring the emergence of allied student movements at other universities across the world.
The campaign for the statues removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to decolonize education, by inspiring the emergence of allied student movements at other universities across the world. Rhodes must fall at oxford reaches its peak footprints tours. Jan 14, 2016 oxford is institutionally racist, say rhodes must fall campaigners members of the group campaigning to remove a statue of the colonialist politician have engaged in a war of words with the. Explore free books, like the victory garden, and more browse now. May 04, 2016 rhodes must fall leader dares whites to have him expelled from oxford what the reserve bank thinks about sa junk status chances next article ask anyone who knows me im not a racist. Eight months later, in december, the rhodes must fall movement moved to oxford.
The campaign for the statues removal received global attention and led to a wider movement to decolonise education across south africa. Last year student protests at the university of cape town brought down a bronze statue of rhodes on the campus. Rhodes must not fall wsj information age columnist l. Browse the independent s complete collection of articles and commentary on rhodes must fall. Rhodes must fall latest news, breaking stories and. The real meaning of rhodes must fall after the nations long retreat from multiculturalism and the return of a rosetinted memory of empire, it is no accident that the rhodes must fall movement has come to britain by amit chaudhuri wednesday 16 march 2016. Recordings of ben morken from the international marxist tendency in south africa and simukai chigudu of the oxford rhodes must fall campaign speaking at the oxford marxist societys meeting on tuesday 9 th february on the topic of the fight against racism and exploitation from south africa to oxford. We want everyone to know his crimes the students of the rhodes must fall campaign explain why oxford university must.
When students at oxford university called for a statue of cecil rho. Led almost exclusively by people of colour, including a number of black south africans, it seeks to challenge the whitedominated educational structures at the university of oxford, redressing historic inequalities and the systematic marginalisation of nonwhite and non. Students at oriel college, oxford who are part of the rhodes must fall group are campaigning to remove the cecil rhodes statue present at oriel colleges site. Oxford rhodes must fall students are like isis destroying monuments in palmyra. He attended one of its colleges, oriel, in the 1870s. Nov 26, 2015 now the slogan rhodes must fall has been picked up in the quieter atmosphere of oxford. Oxford is institutionally racist, say rhodes must fall. The rhodes must fall campaign at oxford university, inspired by the campaign in south africa, has been campaigning for the removal of the statue of cecil rhodes at oriel college as part of a more general and long overdue decolonisation of oxford university. In 2015, oxford was swept up in a larger movement, rhodes must fall, that called for the removal of rhodes statues at universities, including one of oxford s colleges, oriel. Rhodes must fall in oxford rmfo is a movement determined to decolonise the institutional structures and physical space in oxford and beyond. Rhodes must fall describes itself as a collective movement of students and staff. Mar 16, 2016 t he movement known as rhodes must fall, which began with a protest action at the university of cape town on 9 march 2015 and quickly spread to other campuses in south africa, and then to oxford. Following edward said, he argues that we all share an intellectual obligation to push this endeavour forward.
Jan 24, 2017 student news rhodes must fall activist accepts. Oxfords cecil rhodes statue must fall it stands in the way. The book explores the rhodes must fall movement and the broader struggle to decolonize education in three parts. Oxfords cecil rhodes statue must fall it stands in the. Showing the crucial importance of both intersectionality and solidarity with sister movements in south africa and beyond, this book shows what it means to boldly challenge the racism rooted deeply at the very heart of empire. Aside from the fact that some oxford students seem to be missing the point historically all souls statue of christopher codrington, who was much more directly involved in the slave trade, ought to take priority in this iconoclasm for the sake of history it is vital that rhodes must not fall. Rhodes must fall activists have become the very thing they hate.
Our movement addresses oxfords colonial legacy on three levels. Kumis research focuses on the development of business in west africa since the 1960s. Rhodes must fall oxford oxford university is committed to improving the experience of minority ethnic students at oxford. We seek to challenge the structures of knowledge production that continue to mould a colonial mindset that dominates our present. Students returning to oxford university after the christmas break have been told their campaign rhodes must fall, aimed at toppling the famous statue, will fail. Writing about the rhodes must fall movement simukai chigudu argues that the notion of decolonisation involves questioning the hegemony of white, western thought in fields of study as diverse as history, politics, philosophy, modern languages, and literature. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Oxfords rhodes must fall cofounder in hot water again. The origins of the oxford university rhodes must fall campaign by joan smith and g.
Dec 15, 2016 that was not the position, however, ultimately taken by the university of oxfords oriel college, which rebuffed calls to remove a small statue of rhodes from above one of its entrances in january 2016, after the rhodes must fall campaign spread there from south africa. Rhodes must fall oxford, edited by roseanne chantiluke, brian. At the university of oxford, where another statue of rhodes still stands, student and faculty activists find themselves pushing back against those. On tuesday, 19 th january, the oxford union welcomed a full chamber to its first event of term. Written by key members of the movement in oxford, rhodes must fall is the story of that campaign. An active member of the rhodes must fall campaign at cape town university, joshua nott.
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