{"id":13422,"date":"2017-11-10T20:59:06","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T20:59:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/?p=13422"},"modified":"2023-05-30T23:58:33","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T22:58:33","slug":"oxford-college-to-launch-scholarship-in-attempt-to-address-slavery-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/2017\/11\/10\/oxford-college-to-launch-scholarship-in-attempt-to-address-slavery-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Oxford college to launch scholarship in attempt to address slavery legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>All Souls, which received substantial payment in 1710 from slave owner, to fund one student a year from Caribbean nations.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><!-- GUARDIAN WATERMARK --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2017\/nov\/10\/oxford-all-souls-college-scholarship-slavery-legacy-caribbean-christopher-codrington\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/image.guardian.co.uk\/sys-images\/Guardian\/Pix\/pictures\/2010\/03\/01\/poweredbyguardian.png\" alt=\"Powered by Guardian.co.uk\" width=\"140\" height=\"45\" \/>This article titled &#8220;Oxford college to launch scholarship in attempt to address slavery legacy&#8221; was written by Richard Adams Education editor, for The Guardian on Friday 10th November 2017 18.08 UTC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Oxford\u2019s All Souls College is attempting to redress the bitter legacy of slavery that for hundreds of years has helped it maintain its position as one of Britain\u2019s richest and most prestigious academic institutions.<\/p>\n<p>Following long internal debate, the college\u2019s fellows have agreed to launch an annual scholarship scheme, funding graduates from Caribbean countries to study at Oxford, alongside a five-year grant for a higher education college in Barbados.<\/p>\n<p>All Souls is understood to be considering further action to commemorate the suffering of slaves who unwillingly contributed to the college\u2019s success.<\/p>\n<p>The college\u2019s tentative steps recognise the enormous financial benefit All Souls was gifted by former fellow Christopher Codrington, a slave owner and sugar plantation magnate who in 1710 bequeathed part of his fortune for the college to establish the magnificent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asc.ox.ac.uk\/library-history\">library that bears his name<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail\">\n<p> <span>Related: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2016\/jan\/28\/cecil-rhodes-statue-will-not-be-removed--oxford-university\">Cecil Rhodes statue to remain at Oxford after &#8216;overwhelming support&#8217;<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Codrington\u2019s will left \u00a310,000 \u2013 a sum equivalent to tens of millions of pounds today \u2013 to All Souls, which commissioned the architect Nicholas Hawksmoor to design the library that opened in 1751 and has been in use ever since.<\/p>\n<p>Codrington also used his wealth to found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.codrington.org\/site\/\">Codrington College<\/a> in St John, Barbados, a theological college affiliated to the University of the West Indies that All Souls now plans to gift \u00a3100,000 over five years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll Souls is pleased to be funding scholarships for graduate students from the Caribbean, and to support Codrington College in Barbados in this way,\u201d a spokesperson for All Souls said.<\/p>\n<p>The moves are the latest efforts within Oxford to address historical injustices, after a burst of publicity when students <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2016\/jan\/28\/cecil-rhodes-statue-will-not-be-removed--oxford-university\">protested the continued commemoration of Cecil Rhodes<\/a>, the Victorian imperialist who endowed the university with a huge fortune derived from colonial exploitation in southern Africa. <\/p>\n<p>The controversy engulfed Oriel College, which displays a statue of its former student Rhodes, and culminated in a strenuous public debate inside and outside the college over the sculpture\u2019s fate.<\/p>\n<p>Shreya Lakhani of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/commongroundoxford\/\">Common Ground<\/a>, an Oxford student group highlighting the university\u2019s imperial legacy, said All Souls\u2019 actions were \u201csmall steps in the right direction\u201d but said the college could do more given its wealth and status.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t think the steps All Souls has taken are enough, although obviously these are good steps in themselves,\u201d Lakhani said. \u201cOther colleges should look at this and take note, and it might act as a nudge for other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Common Ground argues that All Souls should change the library\u2019s name and relocate Codrington\u2019s marble statue and portrait to avoid \u201cglorifying\u201d him \u2013 although the college says it has no plans to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe people we celebrate are reflections of our past but also expressions of our present day values,\u201d Lakhani said.<\/p>\n<p>In June last year All Souls attracted student protests over Codrington\u2019s legacy. In one case a <a href=\"http:\/\/cherwell.org\/2016\/06\/20\/student-protests-against-all-souls-codrington\/\">student bound in chains<\/a> stood outside the college entrance, with \u201cAll Slaves College\u201d painted on his chest.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"element element-rich-link element--thumbnail\">\n<p> <span>Related: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/education\/2016\/jan\/12\/oxford-university-vice-chancellor-louise-richardson-tradition\">Oxford&#8217;s leaders present competing views of university and tradition<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>All Souls sits at the apex of Oxford\u2019s academic elite, a small but wealthy college that admits few postgraduates \u2013 freeing its fellows from onerous teaching or research obligations. Its \u201cdistinguished fellows\u201d include the former Conservative cabinet ministers John Redwood and William Waldegrave.<\/p>\n<p>Despite its size All Souls has one of the richest endowments in Oxford, approaching \u00a3300m, according to some estimates, although without students its income is limited. The college was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2017\/nov\/08\/paradise-papers-oxford-cambridge-invest-millions-offshore-funds-oxbridge\">one of several Oxbridge institutions<\/a> that appeared in the Paradise Papers revelations, investing funds offshore in the Cayman Islands.<\/p>\n<p>The new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ox.ac.uk\/admissions\/graduate\/fees-and-funding\/fees-funding-and-scholarship-search\/scholarships-1#asgs\">graduate scholarships<\/a> will pay for the postgraduate tuition fees and living expenses of one student a year who is a national of a Caribbean country, although it will not include a fellowship at All Souls itself.<\/p>\n<p>guardian.co.uk &#169; Guardian News &amp; Media Limited 2010<\/p>\n<p>Published via the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/open-platform\/news-feed-wordpress-plugin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Guardian plugin page\" rel=\"noopener\">Guardian News Feed<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/wordpress.org\/extend\/plugins\/the-guardian-news-feed\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Wordress plugin page\" rel=\"noopener\">plugin<\/a> for WordPress.<\/p>\n<p><!-- END GUARDIAN WATERMARK --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>All Souls, which received substantial payment in 1710 from slave owner, to fund one student a year from Caribbean nations<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10220698900476085_349663338397715":"","twitter_1370559253_1370559253":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[418,61,446,352,29,348,64,5,415,149,445,350,63,66,65,416],"class_list":["post-13422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","tag-access-to-university","tag-article","tag-caribbean","tag-colonialism","tag-education","tag-higher-education","tag-main-section","tag-news","tag-oxbridge-and-elitism","tag-richard-adams","tag-slavery","tag-students","tag-the-guardian","tag-uk-home-news","tag-uk-news","tag-university-of-oxford"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13422","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13422"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13422\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13422"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcpdt.org.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}