Cecil John Rhodes Statue – Cape Town, South Africa

 

Removal Framework. Explore definitions here.

Introduction 

The Cecil John Rhodes statue was erected in 1934 on the University of Cape Town (UCT) main campus, and was removed nearly four decades later in 2015 following weeks of social unrest. The effort to remove the Rhodes statue exemplifies effective community organization and campaigning. The removal of the Rhodes statue is not the end of the movement, but the start towards decolonizing educational institutions throughout South Africa. 

Section 1: Background

1.1. Cecil John Rhodes  

Cecil John Rhodes’ actions are seen by many as the embodiment of imperialism and colonialism in South Africa. Born on July 5th, 1853, in Hertfordshire, England, Rhodes would not make it to South Africa until he was 17, and then again at age 20. By 21, he had established a political presence in South Africa by joining Parliament in the Cape Colony, and had amassed substantial wealth from his diamond production company. Due to his executive control of South African natural resources, he quickly became the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and colonized Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe under the British Empire. 

Rhodes held power in nearly all factions of South Africa’s operations including politics and education as well as the economy and social structure. His influence extended back to Britain, where the University of Oxford has offered an opportunity called the ‘Rhodes Scholarship’ since 1902. With the endowment of this scholarship, the winner is able to attend Oxford University tuition-free. The Rhodes Scholarship is one of the oldest international scholarship programs in the world. 

Rhodes’ legacy becomes complicated when informed by knowledge of the physical violence and racist rhetoric he was spreading with far-reaching influence. His rhetoric included white supremacist sentiments. An excerpt from his speech in 1887 states: 

Either you have to receive them on an equal footing as citizens, or to call them a subject race. Well, I have made up my mind that there must be class legislation, that there must be Pass Laws and Peace Preservation Acts, and that we have got to treat natives, where they are in a state of barbarism, in a different way to ourselves. We are to be lords over them … Treat the natives as a subject people as long as they continue in a state of barbarism and communal tenure; be the lords over them, and let them be a subject race, and keep the liquor from them (Vindex 1900, 159).

In his own words, political stances, and economic incentives, Rhodes was adamant about the advancement of the white capitalist man. Investigating the extent of Rhodes’ impact on contemporary political, racial, and economic operations in South Africa makes clear the influence his promotion of racial segregation has had throughout South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. 

Section 2: The Cecil John Rhodes Statue 

The Cecil John Rhodes statue was chosen as a case study not for what Rhodes had “accomplished” at the expense of South Africans, but for how the contemporary community chose to respond to the  decades of irreversible colonialist and imperialist practices he forced upon the Cape of South Africa. The University of Cape Town students recognized that they did not have honor or revere Rhodes while their community continues recover from decades of colonialism. The statue of Rhodes, sculpted by Marion Walgate, is no longer where it once stood on UCT’s main campus. 

As of April 9th, 2015, the Rhodes statue was removed from UCT’s main campus. It is being held in storage by UCT at the time of writing. Based on the interviews with Black South African students conducted in 2021, the Rhodes statue is not missed. During weeks of turmoil leading to the decision of removal, it is certain that the status quo was being adamantly disrupted by not only the students of UCT, but Cape Town citizens as well. This case study depicts a viable resolution option for statues with racist legacies on university campuses. The students of UCT decided this monument could not remain in their space. Their decision and community effort effectively demonstrates what collaborative social justice can achieve, and indicates a potential starting point towards decolonizing educational institutions. 

Section 3: Framework – Removal 

Since the Cecil Rhodes statue from the University of Cape Town is set to never return to the main campus, nor be on public display again, it is classified under the Monuments Toolkit framework as “removal.” Removal is defined as “the act or process of extracting the monument from its original location. The monument exists in its original form, however, it is not accessible to the general public (i.e. off storage, non-public archives).”

The removal of the 1984-pound bronze statue of Cecil John Rhodes in 2015 required a large crane and several hours of preparation. This uncommon still image of a monument removal is historically significant as it captures what was perhaps the peak of the Rhodes Must Fall Movement. 

3.1. Student-led Activism 

The Rhodes Must Fall Movement is a student-led activism campaign from the UCT, but is a collective of students, faculty and staff. The movement was incited by Chumani Maxwele, who led a radical protest against the presence of the Cecil John Rhodes statue on Monday, March 9th, 2015. This protest was based on feelings of discontent and rage felt by Black students attending UCT. Mirroring the sentiments of the Black Lives Matter protest in the U.S. and across the globe, Black South African students felt that UCT was doing little to transform the oppressive space cultivated by parts of its own faculty and the institution’s association with Rhodes. The following quote from UCT Rhodes Must Fall’s (RMF) mission statement reiterates this sentiment: 

This movement is not just about the removal of a statue. The statue has great symbolic power – it is a glorifying monument to a man who was undeniably a racist, imperialist, colonialist, and misogynist. It stands at the center of what supposedly is the ‘greatest university in Africa.’ This presence, which represents South Africa’s history of dispossession and exploitation of black people, is an act of violence against black students, workers and staff. The statue is therefore the perfect embodiment of black alienation and disempowerment at the hands of UCT’s institutional culture, and was the natural starting point of this movement. The removal of the statue will not be the end of this movement, but rather the beginning of the decolonisation of the university (RMF Movement 2015). 

Based on the core of their mission statement, it is clear that at the root of the problem is the social acceptance and normativity surrounding Black pain and history. It is the dehumanization of Black history, and the glorification of white oppressive history that led to the removal of Rhodes. Evermore it is for these very reasons of white supremacy that this campaign exists, and serves as a model for resistance at similar institutions glorifying the racist legacies of historical figures. 

The Rhodes Must Fall movement’s primary strategy for removal was to employ an intersectional approach. For RMF, an intersectional approach meant not solely defining themselves by their blackness, but with equal consideration of gender, sexuality, mental health, class and able-bodiedness. Coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw (1989), intersectionality is an anthropological framework that considers all of a person’s identity when considering the modes of discrimination and privilege. Not only has the Rhodes Must Fall Movement identified actions for after removal, but they are clear they do not want to repeat the mistake of creating a space that’s oppressive for any identity that is often met with discrimination. 

The Rhodes Must Fall Movement provides an example of establishing long-term goals for those looking to start community efforts towards removal or change in another form. The following are a few of 28 goals they’ve outlined:

Implement a curriculum which critically centers Africa and the subaltern. By this we mean treating African discourses as the point of departure – through addressing not only content, but languages and methodologies of education and learning – and only examining western traditions in so far as they are relevant to our own experience.

Provide workers with avenues through which to report and address experiences of racism, sexism and other forms of abuse. These avenues must assist in enforcing legal action against the perpetrator. Remove all statues and plaques on campus celebrating white supremacists.

Rename buildings and roads from names commemorating only white people, to names of either black historical figures, or to names that contribute to this university taking its African positionality.

Replace artworks that exoticize the black experience (by white, predominantly male artists) which are presented without context, with artworks produced by young, black artists.

Increase the representation of black academics on the currently predominantly white, male decision making bodies which perpetuate institutional racism (RMF Movement 2015). 

These demands are based on achieving equity and, with the sustained exploitation of Black South African students, faculty, and workers, it is long overdue. 

3.2. Institutional Response 

Student-led activism led the UCT Council to vote in favor of removing the Cecil John Rhodes statue on April 8, 2015. The Chairperson of the Council, Njongonkulu Ndungane, shared the following in a statement regarding the vote: 

This process has been orderly and deliberative, canvassing the views of students, Senate, academic and PASS staff, convocation, alumni, and the public. It has certainly been enriched by hundreds of articles in the newspapers, discussions on radio and television and on social media. We have noted the extent of the support amongst all the groupings for removing the statue. This process has been vindicated by the number of people who have come into the debates opposed to removing the statue and who have changed their minds as a result of the frank engagement. This is exactly how a university should work and we believe is an example to the country in dealing with heritage issues…Furthermore the student engagement on this issue has added an energy and urgency to addressing many other aspects of transformation and has mobilised members of the university community not previously seized with the issue. The university management will partner with the students, different staff structures and the UCT community to review and refocus our transformation plans (UCT 2015). 

The 30 member council came to the conclusion that the Cecil John Rhodes statue should be removed based on an understanding of the views of students, staff, alumni and the public. The strategy of canvassing opinions and developing an in-depth understanding of the debate surrounding the statue ultimately led them to the decision that resulted in a positive community response. 

The removal of the statue had to be approved by Heritage Western Cape (HWC), the “provincial heritage resources authority” (HWC n.d.). The National Heritage Resources Act of 1999 created Heritage Western Cape, which was officially established in 2003. The organization is mandated to “promote cooperative governance between national, provincial and local authorities for the identification, conservation and management of heritage resources” (ibid.). Monuments, such as that of Cecil John Rhodes, fall under their purview. At the time of removal, HWC granted UCT an emergency permit for temporary removal. The university was then required to apply for permanent removal. UCT hired Ashley Little, an independent heritage practitioner, to create the application. Notably, the application included a discussion of how “the preamble in the National Heritage Resources Act (1999) highlights the importance of heritage in promoting national well-being and nation building,” however, “the statue is currently perceived by many as a focus of cultural distress and dissonance” (HWC 2016). The permanent removal was approved by the HWC Built Environment and Landscape Permit Committee. 

The removal of the Cecil John Rhodes statue from the UCT campus is the direct result of student-led community activism. Institutional bodies, such as the UCT Council and the HWC Built Environment and Landscape Permit Committee, also played a role. Though their actions only came about as a response to social pressure, they made an attempt to listen, understand, and respond. Ultimately, this resulted in a decision that aligned with contemporary Cape Town community values. 

Section 4: Conclusion

Future research into the Cecil John Rhodes case study should include assessing the steps UCT has taken towards decolonizing their educational institution as a whole. As of 2021, 40% of academic staff members are white South Africans, compared with 9% of the overall population in South Africa, while Black South Africans make up more than 80% of the nation’s population (Nordling 2021). Removal was never the end of the goal of movement. In actuality, it is the decolonization of everything under Rhodes’ influence. 

References

Beinart, William. 2022. “Cecil Rhodes: Racial segregation in the Cape Colony and violence in Zimbabwe.” Memorandum. Oriel College. https://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/cecil-rhodes-racial-segregation-in-the-cape-colony-and-violence-in-zimbabwe/. 

Bosch, Rodher. n.d.. Getty Images. Photograph. Accessed January 13, 2023.  https://gettyimages.org/w/index.php?search=Cecil+John+Rhodes+Cape+town&title. 

Calderisi, Robert. N.d. “The Life and Legacy of Cecil Rhodes.” Accessed January 13, 2023. https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/media/45056/the-life-and-legacy-of-cecil-rhodes.pdf.  

Crenshaw, Kimberle. 1989. “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics,” University of Chicago Legal Forum: Vol. 1989: Iss. 1, Article 8. http://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/uclf/vol1989/iss1/8

Heritage Western Cape. 2016. “Approved minutes of the meeting of Heritage Western Cape, Built Environment and Landscape Permit Committee.” October 31, 2016. https://d7.westerncape.gov.za/assets/departments/cultural-affairs-sport/approved_belcom_minutes_31_october_2016_sw_ms_sw_gj_bm_ms_sw_sw_sw.pdf.  

—n.d. “Heritage Western Cape.” Accessed December 10, 2024.  https://www.hwc.org.za/. 

Nordling, L. 2021. “University of Cape Town’s battle to tackle a racist legacy.” Nature, 593 (7859), 465–467. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01321-3.  

Rhodes Must Fall (RMF) Movement. 2015. “UCT Rhodes Must Fall Mission Statement – London School of Economics.” Accessed January 27, 2023. https://www.lse.ac.uk/sociology/assets/documents/events/UCT-Rhodes-Must-Fall-Statement.pdf.  

University of Cape Town (UCT). 2015. “UCT Council votes in favour of removing Rhodes statue.” UCT News. April 8, 2015. https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2015-04-08-uct-council-votes-in-favour-of-removing-rhodes-statue.