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Happy Birthday to Ahmaud Arbery, who would have been 29 today! Affectionately known as “Maud,” with the big, easy smile. His life will always remind us of why we do what we do here at COC. We will continue to fight for a more safe and just world for all Black people.
The dark legacy of Queen Elizabeth: a look at the monarchy's colonial past
Though millions across the world mourned, many also saw the Queen’s passing as a bitter reminder of the British empire’s violent exploitation of countries throughout history, resulting in decades of economic and social devastation.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II revived longstanding criticism over the monarchy’s enrichment from the British empire’s violent colonization of African, Asian and Caribbean nations.
A lot of young Africans shared images and stories of their own elders, who endured a brutal period of British colonial history during the Queen's long reign.
Travel was restricted for Kenyans under British rule
"I cannot mourn," one wrote on Twitter, posting an image of what she said was her grandmother's "movement pass": a colonial document which prevented free travel for Kenyans under British rule in the east African country
Men taken away from their families
Another wrote that her grandmother used to narrate to them how they were beaten and how their husbands were taken away from them and they were left to support their children alone during colonial times.
Cruelty and economic deprivation
Karen Attiah, an African-American journalist tweeted: “Black and brown people around the world who were subject to horrendous cruelties and economic deprivation under British colonialism are allowed to have feelings about Queen Elizabeth”.
Decades of violent upheaval
Harvard University history professor Maya Jasanoff wrote in the New York Times that the Queen’s stoic presence in life as a “fixture of stability” underlied a “solid traditionalist front over decades of violent upheaval”.
The Mau Mau uprising
Jasanoff pointed out that months after Elizabeth II learned of her father’s death and became queen, British colonial authorities in Kenya suppressed a rebellion against the colonial regime known as Mau Mau.
No apologies from the Queen
Cornell University professor Mukoma Wa Ngugi pointed out on Twitter the Queen never apologized for slavery or colonialism or urged the crown to offer reparations for “the millions of lives taken in her/their names.”
An “absurd theater”
“As a Kenyan, I feel nothing. This theater is absurd”, Wa Ngugi added.
The British monarchy represents inequality
University of Cambridge postcolonial studies professor Priyamvada Gopal said on Democracy Now news broadcast that the British monarchy has come to represent “profound and grave inequality”.
Parallels between the British monarchy and the US
She drew parallels between the British monarchy and the concentration of power in other places like the United States.
Colonization of Puerto Rico
Before its independence, the US was once ruled by the British monarchy and now effectively colonizes Puerto Rico and other island nations.
Concentration of power
Gopal added that “power, privilege and wealth are in the hands of a few, which the rest of us are then invited to worship and think of as perfectly normal”.
The future of the Commonwealth
Melissa Murray, a law professor at New York University whose family is from Jamaica, tweeted that the Queen’s death would “accelerate debates about colonialism, reparations, and the future of the Commonwealth”.
Head of state for 32 countries
The Queen was head of state for as many as 32 countries in her 70-year reign, but by the time of her death, just 14 other than the UK remained.
Change underway
While Barbados’ decision to become a republic last year was the first such exit in almost 30 years, the accession of Charles III has many of his subjects across the Commonwealth asking if the time is right to install a less remote head of state.
Antigua and Barbuda
Gaston Browne (pictured), Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said on Saturday that his plan for a referendum was not an act of hostility, but “the final step to complete that circle of independence”.
Jamaica
The removal of the monarchy appears more straightforward in Jamaica, where a simple majority would be enough, a threshold which polls have indicated would probably be met.
Independence for Jamaica
The prime minister, Andrew Holness (pictured), told William and Kate last year that Jamaica intended to be “an independent, developed, and prosperous country”.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
In Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where protesters called for slave trade reparations during William and Kate’s visit, the prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, proposed a referendum in July but said it could only go ahead with bipartisan support.
Possible change in the Caribbean
The Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Lucia all require a simple majority, while Grenada requires a two-thirds vote.
Racism in the royal family
While the Queen’s role in colonialism continues to gnaw at many, the latest generation focused on the racism that stems from the royal family.
The first mixed-race royal member
Particularly through the Queen’s relationship with her mixed-race daughter-in-law Meghan Markle.
Meghan Markle’s accusations
In 2021, Meghan Markle, said in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that “someone” in the royal family had expressed concern about her child’s skin color.
Ethnic minorities were banned from office roles at Buckingham Palace
Shortly after, a set of documents discovered at the National Archives by The Guardian, revealed that the Queen banned “coloured immigrants or foreigners” from serving in office roles in the royal household.
Ethnic minorities were only allowed servant roles
This racist rule was in place until, at least, the late sixties. However, ethnic minorities were always allowed to work as servants.
No response to the BLM movement
Furthermore, a year before, people in the UK and everywhere, complained that the Buckingham Palace had no official response to the murder of George Floyd and the global Black Lives Matter Movement.
The Queen failed to address racism
“It’s hard to imagine the Queen showing support for BLM and anti-racism in general”, wrote a journalist for Insider in 2021.
Racism in the institution of the royal family
“In her 69 years on the throne, she has failed to address the racism that undeniably exists in the institution of the royal family,” she noted.
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