Speakers criticise “uncomfortable” talk at Rhodes House

Panellists at a talk on the legacy of the Transatlantic Slave Trade hosted at Rhodes House described the general experience of speaking at the Trust as “difficult” and “uncomfortable”, and accused the Rhodes Trust of “celebrating its colonial history.”

The talk, held earlier this month, was one of several events marking the £38 million renovation of Rhodes House, which houses the Rhodes Trust and was built in 1929 as a “memorial to Cecil Rhodes”, the British imperialist and diamond magnate who colonised much of southeastern Africa in what is now Zimbabwe and Zambia. 

Chairperson Prof Kehinde Andrews, who spoke at the event, found the newly renovated Rhodes House  “uncomfortable.”  Andrews also took issue with the trust’s logo, which features an image of the Zimbabwe Bird, a mediaeval bird statue stolen from Zimbabwe by Cecil Rhodes in 1891. Rhodes erroneously believed the statue to be built by ancient Europeans and subsequently adopted it as an emblem of European superiority. According to Andrews, “the logo feels like Rhodesia” and is “an example of how colonialism carries on.”

Fellow panellist Onyekachi Wambu concurred that the organisation “perpetuate[s] imperialism.”

Wambu added that: “Emblems are important – one of the first things that was done when Blair and Bush went into Iraq was to pull down the statue of Saddam [Hussein] – so we understand the importance of symbols.”

Responding to the criticism, chief executive Dr Elizabeth Kiss said the Trust was set on becoming “ever-more inclusive and diverse” and would continue to connect scholars and fellows to build “a better world.”

George Floyd’s death in 2020 initiated a wave of protests about colonisers like Rhodes, culminating in the decapitation of his statue at the University of Cape Town. A similar #RhodesMustFall campaign took place in Oxford that centred around the presence of Rhodes monuments at Oriel College, Rhodes’ alma mater. Despite initially acquiescing to protests, however, Oriel’s governing body has continued to block the removal of the two monuments to Rhodes. 

Established by Rhodes in 1902, the Trust runs the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship programme at Oxford University. Twenty scholarships are currently awarded to postgraduate students from Africa and the trust claims that the continent is it’s “single largest priority.” It aims to prove its “commitment to reparative action” by achieving 125 total scholarships by its 125th birthday in 2028.

Responding to the comments, Dr. Kiss said “Everyone at The Rhodes Trust recognises the difficult reality and legacy of our founding. We acknowledge that racism and other forms of exclusion have played a significant role in the history of the Trust. While we have substantially changed to move beyond our past, we recognise much more work is required and we are committed to a proactive role in the realisation of racial justice”.