In July, Oriel College, Oxford set up a panel to consider the future of a statuette of Cecil Rhodes that rests in a niche high in the building paid for by the diamond magnate himself. It seemed, at the time, like a wise move. The college was being besieged by Black Lives Matter protesters, some of whom were making considered arguments against memorialising Rhodes while others railed in general terms against slavery, police brutality, apartheid and a hundred other evils unconnected to the dapper adventurer. It seemed sensible to pass the decision to a commission that could deliberate cool-headedly.
Glancing at the public positions of the nine commissioners, though, it looks as if Oriel has empanelled a hanging jury. Most have said things that are, in broad terms, woke; and several appear to have already made up their minds to remove the statue.
We all have our starting assumptions, of course. Still, it is worth noting how unrepresentative these particular assumptions are. According to a poll for Policy Exchange, 65 per cent of British people agree with the following statement: “It is unfair to make judgments about people in the past based on today’s values. Statues of people who were once celebrated should be allowed to stand.” At the same time, 69 per cent are proud of Britain’s past.
Bear those numbers in mind as we consider the opinions of the various commissioners. Michelle Codrington-Rogers, president of the teachers’ union, the NASUWT, describes herself as “a long-time activist and advocate for the decolonisation of the UK curriculum”. During protests against the statue, she said: “We keep fighting on to expose the raw wounds of the past and try to heal them for the benefit of the next generation. So I thank you all who are involved in the Rhodes Must Fall campaign.”
Shaista Aziz, a local Labour councillor, was one of the loudest supporters of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign. Her position leaves no room for nuance. “It has to go,” she has said. “The college has to understand that it can’t backtrack on this.”
William Beinart, an emeritus professor at St Anthony’s College, is more balanced in his assessment of Rhodes, but has none the less written that the statue should be moved to a museum. DT.
I'm certain that Rhodes will fall. This is why