A hard-hitting opinion piece by Cambridge student Micha Frazer-Carroll in the Independent comments on the recent news that Cambridge University is to investigate its links to the slave trade. Calling the study a “tiny step towards change” that sends a “small message” she warns: “one piece of research does not systemic change make”.
“When we talk about universities’ involvement in colonialism and slavery, it’s important to remember that we are not just talking about issues of the past, but the message sent to current students and academics by overlooking histories of racism.Attending a university that has been complicit in white supremacist thinking is draining. But attending one that then fails to acknowledge its role in that history can be worse.
“The University of Cambridge approaches race uncritically. At best, like in the case of my college’s dining hall, this means being surrounded by faces that do not look like your own. At worst, the legacies of colonialism and slavery – which directly affected my ancestors as well as those of most students of colour at the university – are erased, overlooked, and thus silently condoned.”
Read the full article here.
