Zimbabwe was once known as Rhodesia for the British entrepreneur Cecil Rhodes, who ostensibly took over the area in search of gold in the 1880s before turning the nation over to a colonial government, which adopted the name Rhodesia in 1895.
The first “Chimurenga,” or liberation struggle, took place in 1896 but failed, and white colonialists remained in control until the second Chimurenga, which began in the 1960s.
During colonial rule, much of the day-to-day governance came via the “mission stations,” which would offer the only education that the blacks could get at the time, Mead said.
“There was a vibrant spiritual system before the missions came there,” Mead said, explaining that the people had strong relationships with their ancestors, who served as intermediaries with a creator god.
“Consequently, the people were challenged to find direction in their lives,” she said.
The mission stations were given ownership of the land, so people who had lived there for many generations were eventually subject to paying taxes or rent.
“On the economic plane (the missions) were like white settlers,” she said.
According to Jimmie Jones, the director of multicultural services at Miami University Hamilton, the symposium was designed to take an academic look at subjects that are often controversial or sensationalized.
“Maybe from these presentations, our brains will be tickled a little bit and encourage us to learn more,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2188 or rjones@coxohio.com.
About the Author