An Open Letter to Mulgrave School Regarding the Churchill House

To Mulgrave School,

As a school, we pride ourselves on not tolerating prejudice, in any form. We believe that “Individual values are based on personal integrity and acting with respect towards others,” and our sense of community and friendship is built on “humility, empathy, commitment, and inclusion.” However, we still have a house commemorating a man who acted in ways that went against these values. Winston Churchill might have been a leader who led Britain through World War Two, but he was also a man who allowed his racism to influence his actions.

Winston Churchill’s racist statement did not occur on a single occasion that could have been forgiven, Churchill made harmful racist statements on multiple occasions. In 1937 he stated to the Royal Palestine Commission “I do not admit for instance that a wrong has been done to the red Indians of America or the black people of Australia. I do not admit that a wrong has been done to these people by the fact that a stronger race, a higher-grade race, a more worldly-wise race to put it that way, has come in and taken their place" - referring to the colonization of Indigenous land and the implementation of residential schools. He believed the white race held superiority above all others and that the Indigenous peoples deserved - and even should be thankful for - the acts of colonization and genocide committed against them by European colonizers that killed over 90% of the Indigenous population within a few generations. Additionally, Churchill referred to Palestinians as “barbaric hordes who ate little but camel dung”, clearly a statement based on racial stereotypes made in the early days of his career when quashing an insurgent in Sudan, He supported the use of chemical weapons against Kurdistan and Afghanistan, stating "I am strongly in favour of using poisoned gas against uncivilized tribes'', illustrating that his opinion that the Kurdish and Afghan were uncivilized and this served as a justification to commit these actions. Though some may argue that these beliefs were of his time, this argument does not hold him accountable and validates racism.

Not only did Churchill hold racist views, but he also ignored the famine occurring in Bengal leading to the death of three million Indians. In 1943, India was still in Britain’s colonial possession, due to India's lack of global relations and Britain's mismanagement over the nation a famine occurred in Benegal. Churchill’s lack of action on the matter raised the death toll unnecessarily high. He refused to meet India’s need for wheat and continued to insist that the rice being produced there was to be exported to help the war. Yet A stockpile of wheat was built for feeding Europeans, in case of emergency, instead of using 170,000 tons of wheat that could have helped those starving in India. In addition to his disregard of foreign affairs and lack of action, he even implied that the famine was India’s fault, claiming they “breed like rabbits''. As the Mahatma Gandhi movement to free India of Britain's colonial possession grew, Churchill announced his dislike of the Indian people saying, "I hate Indians, they are a beastly people with a beastly religion." His mocking words highlight his lack of respect and empathy towards Indian individuals in general.

I believe that Winston Churchill was a man who did do some good yet held values were only that profited those of higher socioeconomic classes and the white race. He held harmful beliefs about many minorities and not only presented them knowing he had influence but also acted upon them. He allowed a nation under Britain's colonial possession to fall into a famine continuously disregarding the issue leading to the death of millions because he felt they deserved it. I feel that dedicating a house to Churchill invalidates the harm he caused millions of people, I advocate that we reconsider dedicating a house to him and consider other notable and influential figures as options. For example, Malala Yousafzai. Malala has dedicated her life to fighting for the education of girls in developing countries, her story teaches students to value their education - something that represents our school’s values rather well. A few other notable figures that could be taken into consideration are Nadia Murad, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Michelle Obama. Though some of these women have never received a Nobel prize they have done phenomenal things and made a lasting impact on our world. By dedicating a house to Churchill we are standing by his unacceptable actions and going against the school values that we so often preach.

Sincerely,

Nika Neely (she/her)