Efforts by the University of Oxford to address the legacy of imperialist and mining magnate, Cecil John Rhodes, now include the carving into stone at Rhodes House of a statement in the extinct African language of ǀxam.
"Remembering and honouring the labour and suffering of those who worked to create this wealth" was translated into ǀxam (formerly spoken by the ǀXam-ka ǃʼē people) and carved into the stone of the recently refurbished Rhodes House in Oxford.
The Rhodes Scholarships were established through the Will of Cecil John Rhodes in 1902, who played a significant role in the colonization and exploitation of Southern Africa. The Rhodes Trust which houses the Atlantic Institute, is making continuous strides toward repair, through reimagining Rhodes House and responding to its history.
Rhodes Scholar and Atlantic Institute Governing Board member, Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English, University of Oxford, writes: "The decision to sculpt words honoring those who worked to generate Rhodes’ wealth emerges from five years of legacy and inclusion conversations held across the worldwide Rhodes Scholar community. These rewarding but often tough exchanges were conducted in the awareness of important initiatives exploring histories of empire, like the #RhodesMustFall and #BlackLivesMatter movements."
You can read the full text of her article with Luan Staphorst, as published in The Conversation.
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