STATUES, ANGER AND AMBIVALENCE
June, 2020, became a month of fallen icons. Around the world, statues came tumbling down as Black Lives Matter protesters sought to remove all figures associated with slavery, colonialism and other forms of racial injustice from North American and European cityscapes. Among the first to be attacked was Robert E. Lee, a Confederate general whose statues in the US South represents the slave-based system that white southerners defended in the American Civil War. The monument of British slave trader Edward Colston ended up in Bristol Harbour, while Belgium’s King Leopold was red-painted as a reminder of atrocities committed in Congo. Few will probably disagree with the protesters’ feelings that these are controversial icons of the past.

But soon after the symbolic drowning of Colston in Bristol harbor, new culprits were added to the list. The label ‘racist’ was put on the statue of Robert the Bruce at Bannockburn, which seemed a rather random choice, given that this commemorated a battle fought in 1314. Other figures targeted by British BLM protesters were the Liberal Prime Minister William Gladstone, the Conservative war leader Winston Churchill and the founder of the scout and guide movement, Robert Baden-Powell. This is where this battle over monuments becomes interesting for the intercultural educator. For whose history determines what is worth commemorating?

 

DIFFERENT PEOPLE TELL DIFFERENT STORIES
What is common to William Gladstone, Winston Churchill and Robert Baden-Powell is that they represent different stories to different people. Personally, I was surprised to learn that Gladstone had been put on the list of BLM targets. This is because I view Gladstone through the lens of Scottish history where Gladstone, in his role as Prime Minister, is associated with the Land Reforms that finally resolved the injustice caused by a system of land ownership that allowed the gentry to evict people from their land in the 18th and 19th centuries. But there is another side to Gladstone, who was the son of a slave owner, with views shaped by his father.

Another ambivalent figure is Winston Churchill. The BLM campaigners are angry because of Churchill’s views on race, which shows a man who believed in white supremacy – that it was only rightful that ‘inferior’ races such as the indigenous population of North America, India and the Palestine should be conquered and ruled by stronger people. But Churchill is also a symbol of British endurance in World War II - an iconic figure, whose war effort is commemorated with a statue in Parliament Square, London, and a Churchill college at Cambridge. When the BLM protesters marched in London, groups of Churchill supporters gathered to protect his statue.

THE BATTLE OF POOLE
Perhaps the most interesting battle is the one that happened in the town of Poole, by the English Channel. At Poole Harbour, facing Brownsea Island, stands the statue of Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of the scout and guide movement. The monument is visited every year by thousands of young people and adults from around the world, who come to Poole to honour the legacy of the educator who inspired what is today a movement of more than 60 mio members. The picture shows three generations of a Danish scout and guide family standing next to the BP monument.

 

The statue became a BLM target because of Baden-Powell’s acclaimed imperialism and sexism. Reading some of his texts from the early 20th century, there is no doubt that his views on race and gender were those of a man educated in Victorian England. And yes, he probably did commit war crimes as a British soldier fighting in South Africa during the Boer War. Yet he is also an educator, who has lit the fire for so many young people since the first scout camp on Brownsea Island in 1907. This is the legacy that scouts and guides celebrate in Poole.

When news broke that the statue was a BLM target, scouts travelled to Poole to watch over the monument. Other scouts engaged in social media debates to defend their hero against the accusations. Such action is unhelpful if ignoring the possibility of ambivalence. Robert Baden-Powell was an ambiguous figure, which Bear Grylls, British chief scout, highlights in his response to the Poole incident:

As Scouts, we most certainly do not celebrate Baden-Powell for his failings. We see them and we acknowledge them. And if he were here today we would disagree with him on many things, of that there is no doubt. And I suspect he would too. But we also recognise that Baden-Powell is part of our history, and history is nothing if we do not learn from it. (Scouts, 2020)

ACCEPTING ANGER AND MOVING ON
The essence of Bear Gryll’s message is that we accept our icons are not perfect – that we can and should be willing to engage in a debate about their failings. This is the essence of ethical, intercultural dialogue. The Black Lives Matter Protests are powered by anger accumulated over generations as the result of the social injustice and systemic discrimination that continue to haunt people’s lives today. So it is not right to try and defend our icons against such anger. Instead we need to dig deeper –attending to the stories of those who are angry, even when they challenge icons or histories that are dear to us. But we need all stories on the table – William Gladstone’s Land Reforms as well as his slave-owning father, Churchill’s war effort as much as his views on race; Robert Baden-Powell’s work as an educator together with his Victorian values. Otherwise we risk losing one history in our effort to respect another.  And even if that alternative story might satisfy the people currently protesting, it remains a one-sided narrative. That should be avoided if we are to learn anything from an ambivalent past.

Hanne Tange, July 2020
tange@hum.aau.dk

Reference:
Scouts 2020. A statement from chief scout Bear Grylls. News June 13.