Removal of racist symbols from \u201cworld-class\u201d universities:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\nThe University of Ghana seeks to be a world class university.\u00a0 At world class universities, even former bastions of slavery, apartheid and white supremacy, statutes and other symbols associated with controversial persons have been pulled down or removed. Below are just a few examples:<\/p>\n
– August 2016: Yale University is in the process of removing stained glass windows that depict slaves. It is also reconsidering keeping the name of Calhoun College, named for John C Calhoun, a 19th-century vice-president, South Carolina senator and Yale alumnus who established himself as a vocal advocate for slavery.\u00a0 In April 2016 President of Yale, Peter Salovey had said the name would remain.\u00a0 He has also appointed a new committee to develop guidelines for proposals to remove historical names from university buildings, including Calhoun’s. \n– May 2016: Yale announced it would name a residential college, set to open in 2017, for Anna Pauline \u201cPauli\u201d Murray, a black Yale Law School alumna and civil rights activist.<\/p>\n
– March 2016: A committee tasked with re-considering Harvard Law School\u2019s seal in light of its ties to slavery recommended that the Harvard Corporation revoke the emblem\u2019s status as the school\u2019s official symbol. The seal bears the crest of the former slave-owning Royall family, whose donation helped establish Harvard\u2019s first law professorship in the late 18th century.<\/p>\n
– November 2015: Georgetown University renamed two buildings on campus, Mulledy and McSherry Hall, that honour former presidents who organized the sale of slaves to a Louisiana plantation to help pay off the school’s debt. (The school has not yet chosen permanent names, but for now Mulledy Hall will be called Freedom Hall, and McSherry Hall will be named Remembrance Hall, according to the Washington Post).<\/p>\n
– October 2015: Rhodes University established a renaming team to remove the name of Cecil Rhodes, former prime minister of the Cape colony, and one of the founders of apartheid.[3]<\/p>\n
– March to April 2015: First the senate and then the Council of the University of Cape Town voted to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes.<\/p>\n
4.There was no consultation about the placing of the statute:<\/p>\n
The University of Ghana has a tradition for the naming of buildings\u2014a committee works on this and seeks the views of members of the university community, important stakeholders as the case may be.\u00a0 While we speak here about a statue and not the naming of a building, we are of the view that similar principles of transparency and consultation should apply.\u00a0 In the case of the Gandhi statute it would appear from responses the former Vice-chancellor gave to emails on the University email list, that he took the decision alone.\u00a0 He explained that the statute was a gift from the embassy of the Republic of India.\u00a0 To questions about what we received or were promised in return no answer was forthcoming.[4]<\/p>\n
We urge Council and the management of the University of Ghana, that in the future when buildings are named or statutes erected, that colleagues from requisite Departments be consulted so it does not appear as if our academics do not have the relevant information.<\/p>\n
We can do the honourable thing by pulling down the statue. It is better to stand up for our dignity than to kowtow to the wishes of a Third World \u00a0super-power. Some harm has been done by erecting the statue. We have failed the generation that look up to us, namely our students.\u00a0 How will the historian teach and explain that Gandhi was uncharitable in his attitude towards the Black race and see that we’re glorifying him by erecting a statue on our campus? The same goes for the human rights lecturer, the International Law lecturer, the Political Science lecturer teaching on apartheid in South Africa, etc. However, to allow the statue to remain on our campus will do even more harm and make us appear to hold double standards.<\/p>\n
We should not bury our head in the sand and expect that the storm will die down.<\/p>\n
We thank you for your attention!<\/p>\n
Sincerely<\/p>\n
Prof Akosua Adomako Ampofo<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A former Director of the Institute of African Studies, Professor Akosua Adomako Ampofo, has started a campaign asking for the\u00a0removal of the statue of Indian independence icon, Mahatma Gandhi, from the University of Ghana campus. Prof Adomako Ampofo is urging members of the University of Ghana Council to heed her petition arguing among other things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":247707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,11],"tags":[11758,3,4838,11759,619],"yoast_head":"\n
Pull down \u2018racist\u2019 Gandhi\u2019s statue from Legon \u2013 Professor demands - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n