In Rhodes Must Fall: 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. Grounded in the immense learning of the Fallist movements, this anthology enriches the student movement literature and offer concrete paths forward in the quest to decolonise our institutions, writes Priyanka deSouza

deSouza, Priyanka

English

LSE Research Online

Book	Review:	Rhodes	Must	Fall:	The	Struggle	toDecolonise	the	Racist	Heart	of	Empire	by	RhodesMust	Fall	Oxford,	edited	by	Roseanne	Chantiluke,Brian	Kwoba	and	Athinagamso	NkopoIn	Rhodes	Must	Fall:	The	Struggle	to	Decolonise	the	Racist	Heart	of	Empire,	editors	and	members	of	RhodesMust	Fall	Oxford	Roseanne	Chantiluke,	Brian	Kwoba	and	Athinagamso	Nkopo	offer	a	collection	that	gives	first-hand	accounts	of	the	Rhodes	Must	Fall	protests,	discusses	the	response	from	authorities	and	explores	the	practicallessons	learned.	Grounded	in	the	immense	learning	of	the	Fallist	movements,	this	anthology	enriches	the	studentmovement	literature	and	offer	concrete	paths	forward	in	the	quest	to	decolonise	our	institutions,	writes	PriyankadeSouza.	Rhodes	Must	Fall:	The	Struggle	to	Decolonise	the	Racist	Heart	of	Empire.	Rhodes	Must	Fall	Oxford,	editedby	Roseanne	Chantiluke,	Brian	Kwoba	and	Athinagamso	Nkopo.	Zed	Books.	2018.Find	this	book:	Most	mainstream	media	states	that	the	Rhodes	Must	Fall	(RMF)	movement	was	bornon	9	March	2015	when	Chumani	Maxwele	hurled	excrement	at	a	statue	of	CecilRhodes	at	the	University	of	Cape	Town	(UCT).	Through	this	action	Maxwele	broughtattention	to	the	fact	that	21	years	after	the	end	of	Apartheid,	nothing	had	changed:UCT	has	assumed	the	same	role	that	Rhodes	did	in	continuously	frustrating	the	hopeof	Black	South	Africans	using	the	same	technologies	of	exploitation.However,	Kealeboga	Ramaru	in	her	piece,	‘Black	Feminist	Reflections	on	the	RhodesMust	Fall	Movement	at	UCT’,	in	this	new	anthology,	Rhodes	Must	Fall,	traces	a	muchlonger	intellectual	history	of	protest	against	the	suffocating	structures	of	UCT,	whichwas	sustained	and	given	life	by	the	labour	of	Black	feminists,	Black	womxn	and	queerpeople	whose	voices	and	claims	to	space	were	suppressed	during	RMF,	often	withviolence.	She	traces	the	work	done	by	Black	Feminists	and	the	Trans	Collectiveduring	RMF	in	protesting	and	organising	teaching	and	learning	spaces	to	preventimaginings	of	‘decolonization’	from	falling	prey	to	the	very	hierarchical	system	thatthey	were	trying	to	dismantle.	RMF	sparked	‘Fallist’	movements	in	universities	around	the	world	that	resonated	withthe	experience	of	marginalisation	of	Black	students	at	UCT.Rhodes	Must	Fall:	The	Struggle	to	Decolonize	The	Racist	Heart	of	the	Empire,	edited	by	movement	leaders	ofRhodes	Must	Fall	Oxford	(RMFO),	Roseanne	Chantiluke,	Brian	Kwoba	and	Athinagamso	Nkopo,	provides	a	much-needed	intellectual	space	for	movement	leaders	to	give	a	first-hand	account	of	the	protests	they	organised,	theresponse	from	authorities	and	importantly,	and	uniquely,	practical	lessons	learned.The	book	is	divided	into	three	parts.	The	first	provides	a	detailed	account	of	RMFO.	The	second	consists	of	shortaccounts	from	sister	movements	in	other	universities:	Harvard,	Princeton,	the	University	of	Ghana,	the	School	ofOriental	and	African	Studies,	Sussex,	Queen	Mary	University	and	University	College	London.	Several	themes	carrythrough	the	accounts	of	these	movements:	what	does	a	decolonised	university	look	like?	Who	should	lead	thedecolonisation	movement?	And	what	strategies	should	movements	employ	to	bring	about	change	in	their	institution?The	third	section	connects	the	intellectual	space	of	the	movements	documented	in	the	book	with	globaldecolonisation	movements:	such	as	the	struggle	to	decolonise	West	Papua,	the	Palestinian	struggle	against	thesettler	colonialism	of	the	Israeli	state,	the	call	for	reparations	at	the	level	of	the	nation	state	and	at	the	university	leveland	the	work	being	done	to	decolonise	curricula,	even	in	subjects	like	mathematics.LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Rhodes Must Fall: The Struggle to Decolonise the Racist Heart of Empire by Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, edited byRoseanne Chantiluke, Brian Kwoba and Athinagamso NkopoPage 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-14Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/11/14/book-review-rhodes-must-fall-the-struggle-to-decolonise-the-racist-heart-of-empire-by-rhodes-must-fall-oxford-edited-by-roseanne-chantiluke-brian-kwoba-and-athinagamso-nkopo/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/Image	Credit:	Rhodes	Must	Fall	Statue	Removal,	2015	(Desmond	Bowles	CC	BY	SA	2.0)It	is	perhaps	unsurprising	that	this	book	was	born	from	RMFO.	Unlike	at	UCT,	where	the	Rhodes	statue	wasremoved	by	the	University,	at	Oxford	it	continues	to	stand	tall	over	Oriel	College	after	donors	threatened	to	revoke100	million	pounds	of	funding	if	Oriel	capitulated	to	RMFO	demands.	Public	figures,	including	the	Chancellor	andVice	Chancellor	of	Oxford	University,	Chris	Patten	and	Louise	Richardson,	vilified	and	misrepresented	themovement,	accusing	the	students	of	trying	to	‘erase	history’.	Individual	students	were	viciously	targeted	by	the	massmedia.	Many	of	them	received	death	threats.	Almost	no	space	was	given	to	the	fundamental	demands	of	RMFO	foran	inclusive	university	and	their	demands	for	the	right	to	critically	question	the	geopolitics	of	the	Eurocentricknowledge	production	system	in	which	they	were	expected	to	study.	This	book	seeks	to	change	this	dynamic.The	editors	state	in	the	Introduction	that	the	attack	on	RMFO	in	the	British	press	is	the	manifestation	of	Britishsociety’s	staunch	denial	of	its	colonial	past	and	its	legacy.	The	first	section	starts	by	setting	the	record	straight	bylaying	out	RMFO’s	powerful	founding	statement.	RMFO,	just	as	in	the	accounts	of	other	movements	in	this	book,	liftsup	the	work	done	before	at	Oxford	that	set	the	stage	for	RMFO	to	happen.	By	doing	this,	it	cuts	at	the	heart	of	themyth	that	RMFO	was	born	in	a	vacuum	by	a	small	group	of	disgruntled	students,	but	was	rather	a	movement	within	ahistory	of	similar	efforts	to	destabilise	the	hegemony	of	Whiteness	that	had	marginalised	the	lived	experiences	ofBlack	students	for	generations.	Such	accounts	also	help	to	illuminate	the	paucity	of	institutional	support	for	Blackstudents	within	the	universities,	and	the	difficulties	faced	by	Black	leaders	of	these	organisations	in	serving	theircommunity.	We	see	this	time	and	time	again	in	other	sections	of	the	book,	such	as	in	Ayo	Olatunji’s	account	of	beingthe	only	‘Black	Minority	Ethnic	Sabbatical	Officer’	working	in	an	English	university.The	book	goes	on	to	tell	the	story	of	RMFO	properly	by	including	key	speeches,	letters	of	support,	interviews	with	arange	of	RMFO	activists,	poems	and	spoken	word	that	tell	the	hidden	history	of	Black	people	in	the	city	of	theDreaming	Spires,	and	reveals	how	the	very	architecture	of	Oxford	University	was	co-opted	to	paint	a	false	story	ofthe	grandeur	of	the	British	Empire	at	the	expense	of	the	Black	bodies	on	which	it	was	built.	One	of	the	letters	ofsupport	for	RMFO	included	in	the	collection	is	by	Michelle	Codrington,	a	Black	Unionist,	teacher	and	a	descendent	ofa	family	enslaved	by	Christopher	Codrington,	after	whom	the	Codrington	Library	in	All	Souls	College	was	named.Histories	like	that	of	the	Codrington	Library	serve	to	dislocate	Oxford	from	the	space	of	the	‘global	economy’	andinstead	locate	it	in	a	real	physical	space,	with	a	very	material,	bloody	history.	Chantiluke,	in	her	chapter	‘BritishValues	and	Decolonial	Resistance	in	the	Classroom’	in	the	third	section	of	this	book,	further	reminds	us	that	althoughOxford	University	is	near	the	top	of	the	world	rankings,	parts	of	the	town	of	Oxford	are	amongst	some	of	the	poorestin	the	UK,	where	25	per	cent	of	the	children	who	are	resident	live	below	the	poverty	line.	She	asks	the	importantquestions:	what	does	Oxford	owe	to	the	local	community?	Are	universities	supposed	to	serve	the	interests	of	thenation	state,	the	global	knowledge	economy	or	the	communities	in	which	they	are	physically	located?LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Rhodes Must Fall: The Struggle to Decolonise the Racist Heart of Empire by Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, edited byRoseanne Chantiluke, Brian Kwoba and Athinagamso NkopoPage 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-14Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/11/14/book-review-rhodes-must-fall-the-struggle-to-decolonise-the-racist-heart-of-empire-by-rhodes-must-fall-oxford-edited-by-roseanne-chantiluke-brian-kwoba-and-athinagamso-nkopo/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/The	book	doesn’t	shy	away	from	being	‘real’.	The	movement	leaders	of	both	RMFO,	as	well	as	other	movementsdocumented	in	the	second	section	of	the	book,	discuss	the	effects	of	studying	in	a	space	in	which	their	knowledgesystems	and	ability	to	interpret	their	own	experiences	are	constantly	challenged	and	called	into	question.	Aparticularly	moving	chapter	was	the	open	letter	from	Dr	Lwazi	Lushaba	to	her	boss,	the	Head	of	Department	at	UCT,who	wrote	about	being	made	to	feel	like	a	child,	having	her	decisions	questioned,	being	prevented	from	speaking	upat	meetings	by	the	older	white	men	in	her	department.One	of	the	most	compelling	aspects	of	the	book	is	the	candid	account	of	the	internal	politics	of	the	movements	inquestion.	The	first	part	on	RMFO	also	outlines	how	the	movement	struggled	with	anti-Blackness	and	patriarchywithin	the	movement.	The	students	who	participated	in	RMFO	were	from	different	parts	of	the	world	where‘Blackness’	manifests	itself	differently.	The	ideological	origins	of	the	movement	in	RMF	at	UCT	meant	that	themovement	at	Oxford	was	Black-founded	and	African-led.	However,	RMFO	still	had	to	grapple	with	the	variety	ofclaims	and	experiences	of	the	activists	involved,	and	the	thorny	question	of	who	should	lead	the	movement.	Thischapter	provides	a	rare	glimpse	into	the	politics	and	pragmatics	of	practising	solidarity,	and	serves	as	a	cautionarytale	for	other	movement-builders.The	book	also	takes	up	the	question	of	decolonising	Whiteness.	It	contains	an	interview	with	three	White	allies	ofRMFO	detailing	how	they	learned	to	listen	and	lend	support	without	being	at	the	centre	of	the	movement,	withoutbeing	self-congratulatory.	The	question	of	whether	it	is	possible	for	Whites	to	be	allies	runs	through	other	sectionsand	chapters	of	this	book.	Nkopo’s	later	account	of	being	an	activist	in	South	Africa	questions	whether	Whites	canindeed	be	allies	as	they	have	less	to	lose,	and	therefore	do	not	put	themselves	at	risk	in	the	same	way	as	Blackpeople.	One	of	the	things	the	book	could	have	focused	more	on	is	the	legacy	of	these	movements	within	theinstitutions	where	they	took	place.Finally,	the	book	does	more	than	just	talk	about	the	strategies	adopted	by	various	movements	but	also	describeswhat	a	decolonised	institution	could	look	like.	We	see	for	some	authors	that	decolonisation	means	White	institutionsrecognising	the	bloody	role	they	played	in	suppressing	Black	histories,	and	offering	reparations.	Some	of	thecontributors	(Sir	Hilary	McDonald	Beckles,	the	Vice	Chancellor	of	the	University	of	the	West	Indies)	speak	about	theneed	for	reparations	at	the	level	of	the	nation	state.	Dr	Patricia	Daley,	one	of	the	few	Black	Professors	at	Oxford,speaks	about	the	reparations	owed	by	the	university	to	its	Black	students	for	the	epistemic	violence	it	has	wrought.Other	authors,	such	as	Esther	Stanford-Xosei,	write	about	the	form	reparations	should	take.In	summary,	the	wonderful	pieces	in	Rhodes	Must	Fall,	grounded	in	the	immense	learning	of	the	Fallist	movements,enrich	the	student	movement	literature	and	offer	concrete	paths	forward	in	the	quest	to	decolonise	our	institutions.	Itconnects	these	movements	with	politics	on	the	scale	of	the	nation	state	to	help	us	see	these	institutions	in	context.Importantly,	this	book	also	sets	a	precedent	for	telling	the	stories	of	movements,	and	creates	its	own	space	to	do	soproperly.Priyanka	deSouza	is	a	PhD	candidate	in	the	Department	of	Urban	Studies	and	Planning	at	the	MassachusettsInstitute	of	Technology.Note:	This	review	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Review	of	Books	blog,	or	of	theLondon	School	of	Economics.	LSE Review of Books: Book Review: Rhodes Must Fall: The Struggle to Decolonise the Racist Heart of Empire by Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, edited byRoseanne Chantiluke, Brian Kwoba and Athinagamso NkopoPage 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2018-11-14Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/11/14/book-review-rhodes-must-fall-the-struggle-to-decolonise-the-racist-heart-of-empire-by-rhodes-must-fall-oxford-edited-by-roseanne-chantiluke-brian-kwoba-and-athinagamso-nkopo/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/

Book review: Rhodes must fall: the struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire by Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, edited by Roseanne Chantiluke, Brian Kwoba and Athinagamso Nkopo

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Book review: Rhodes must fall: the struggle to decolonise the racist heart of empire by Rhodes Must Fall Oxford, edited by Roseanne Chantiluke, Brian Kwoba and Athinagamso Nkopo

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