Cecil Rhodes Statue Removed After Protests In Cape Town, Backlash Ensued
The Cecil Rhodes statue in Cape Town University was removed after student protest. The removal of the monument was not without some backlash, though.
As the movement against racism spreads worldwide and wherever national freedoms allow it, many reminders of historical South African leaders are being targeted for their symbolism. The students of South Africa’s oldest university have been protesting the monument to Cecil Rhodes, among others, because the person had been known to support black oppression.
Protesters cheered the public removal of the statue, which is being relocated into storage for “safe keeping.”
Activist Chumani Maxwele began the protest back in March as the “Rhodes Must Fall” campaign. The activist began the protest by smearing excrement on the monument. According to supporters of the campaign, the Cecil Rhodes statue stands as a powerful symbol for racism, saying it glorifies someone “who exploited black [labor] and stole land from indigenous people.”
White South Africans have expressed their own issues with the removal of the statue and defacement of others. While the people immortalized with the monuments may have supported the oppression of the black community, others feel the need to defend their heritage.
On Wednesday, those who defend the statues gathered around those of 19th Century president Paul Kruger and 17th Century colonialist Jan van Riebeeck. Their stance is that they feel their heritage is being targeted after the defacement of the statues. Results of the campaign had led to green paint being thrown at the statue of Kruger, reflecting the beginning of the protest against the Cecil Rhodes statue.
Paul Kruger was noted for his status as a leader who opposed the British in South Africa. In this way, he may have been against black oppression as much as Abraham Lincoln was in the United States.
Statue of colonialist Cecil Rhodes is removed after protests in Cape Town http://t.co/M2MyLMYcMS #RhodesStatue pic.twitter.com/MJCaaMXmxy
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 9, 2015
According to BBC News, one such white protester even held up a placard which read, “Hands off our heritage. This is genocide.”
The government of South Africa approves of the removal of the statue, which was the main subject of the protest. Sandile Memela, spokesman for the arts and culture ministry at CTU, agrees.
“It marks a significant … shift where the country deals with its ugly past in a positive and constructive way.”
This uprising of what appears to be a “race war” at Cape Town University only shows a negative effect of its education, says a local news outlet, the Citizen.
“Our academics are not succeeding at their most fundamental task: producing critical but tolerant graduates.”
According to Yahoo! News, Jonathan Jansen wrote in the local newspaper about what the removal of the Cecil Rhodes statue means.
“No, there is not a race war coming.
“The reason is simple: the overwhelming majority of South Africans, black and white, believe in a middle path somewhere between reconciliation and social justice.”
What do you think about the removal of the monument to the British colonialist?
[Image via Mills / Getty Images]
