A leading black historian has accused the University of Bristol of?using her as a?¡°human shield¡± against criticisms that it has not?done enough to?confront its?links to?slavery.

In an , Olivette Otele, who was appointed professor of the history of?slavery at?Bristol in?October 2019, complained that the university ¡°has?been using me as a?shield in the last [two] years¡± as it?began to?examine how it?may have benefited from the transatlantic slave trade.

Although the university was founded in 1876 ¨C almost 70 years after the trading of enslaved people was banned in the UK in 1807 ¨C some of the merchant families who helped to establish it may have profited from the slave trade in previous generations, research indicates. The Wills family ¨C after whom the university¡¯s Wills Memorial Hall is named ¨C imported slave-grown tobacco from America until the end of the American Civil War in 1865. One of its student residences, Goldney Hall, is named after the 17th-century trader Thomas Goldney, whose wealth was derived in part from ventures connected to the slave trade.

When asked recently about the Goldney link, a university spokesperson commented that Professor Otele¡¯s research would ¡°inform a review of relevant university building names and the university¡¯s logo to ensure they reflect the university¡¯s vision and values¡± ¨C a?response that prompted one Bristol lecturer, Kirsty Sedgman, to that it was ¡°holding up Professor as a?human shield to deflect legitimate criticism¡±.

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Responding to the comment on 28?April, Professor Otele agreed, stating that the ¡°uni has been using me as a shield¡±, adding that her ¡°workload became insane and [did] not compensate by financial reward¡±.

The Cameroon-born academic, who became the first black woman to be appointed a full history professor in the UK when joining Bath Spa University in October 2018 and who has led the ¡®We?are Bristol¡¯ , added that she had endured ¡°11?trips to A&E (exhaustion, blood pressure, fainting, and other complications)¡± related to?stress caused in part by alleged back-stabbing from colleagues.

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¡°My time would have been bearable without constant banana skins thrown my way by other academics & ¡®allies¡¯ (they know who they are),¡± she explained, adding that ¡°some were happy [to] use my public profile by association [for] their career while simultaneously sabotaging my reputation inside and outside the?uni¡±.

Professor Otele¡¯s work has gained greater prominence since the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston in June 2020 in Bristol city centre, with her research attracting a ?290,000 UK?Research and Innovation grant last year.

However, condemning what she saw as ¡°school playground jealousy¡±, Professor Otele, who will take up a professorship at SOAS University of London, in September, said she had a ¡°toxic¡± working environment as colleagues sought to criticise her work.

¡°I ignored them all and even gave some of those people more support so they could feel secure but?no, it just wasn¡¯t enough. I?dare say they will be happy to see me gone,¡± she wrote.

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Professor Otele, who is vice-president of the Royal Historical Society, claimed that the university ¡°did protect me from that nastiness¡± but said she had nonetheless faced ¡°vile anonymous letters [which] came from inside¡± Bristol, which she likened to a ¡°toxic work environment¡±.

However, she also drew attention to the lack of racial diversity at the university¡¯s history department, stating that it was not until 2020 that the ¡°history department finally got a black scholar¡­at a university located in city that was involved in the slave trade¡±.

She was the ¡°[first] one I?think [and the] uni doesn¡¯t see [a problem with] not having black academics there¡±, Professor Otele added.

In a subsequent tweet, she added she ¡°[did] not wish to engage and talk about it further so please don¡¯t invite me to do that in various spaces¡±.

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Judith Squires, Bristol¡¯s deputy vice-chancellor and provost, told Times Higher Education that the university ¡°continues to be extremely proud to have appointed Professor Olivette Otele to the University of Bristol¡± and was ¡°very grateful to her for the contribution she has made to our community, and to the wider city, over the last three years¡±.

The university did ¡°recognise that this has been a challenging time for her, and welcome[d] the fact that she has been able to highlight unacceptable behaviours where they exist in our organisation¡±, added Professor Squires, who said Bristol was ¡°fully committed to addressing those cultural practices that perpetuate the under-representation of black academics at our university¡±.

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jack.grove@timeshighereducation.com