The conviction came as the college rejected an ecclesiastical court ruling that barred the removal of a monument to the chapel of 17th-century benefactor Tobias Rust, who was involved in the slave trade. He acknowledged, however, that the recent decision by the Metropolitan Court of Appeals was “fundamentally wrong” and said that the ongoing process of resolving these issues urgently needed reform. “Many students and members of the college community trust the church process and it is understandable that they feel frustrated by the crisis and the misrepresentation of their views,” said Sonita Alleyne, a Master of Jesus College and the first black head of anyone else. Oxbridge College. “The ruling of the Constitutional Court shows a lack of understanding of the experience of people of color in modern Britain,” he added. Jesus College argued that the monument, prominently located on the west wall of the Class I chapel, should be relocated to another area of the college because its presence had a negative impact on the church’s mission and ministry. Rustat, a former courtier of Charles II and one of the college’s most important benefactors, was associated with the Royal Adventurers, later the Royal African Society, which traded and traded African slaves. But the court ruled that opposition to the monument was based on “a false narrative” about the scale of Rustat’s financial rewards from slavery and ordered that the monument remain in the chapel, the oldest in Cambridge. “After much deliberation and deliberation, the college council decided not to appeal the disappointing decision,” Allen said. “Although we believe that the decision is fundamentally wrong, the time and cost involved in appealing the decision is significant and the reasons why we are allowed to appeal are restrictive. “We will take our time and consider what we will do next. The presence of the monument in our chapel continues to be a serious issue for our increasingly diverse community. We firmly believe that our attitude will place us on the right side of history. “ Alleyne reminded the church of its commitment to action last year in its From Lament to Action report. “This decision demonstrates the inadequacies of the ecclesiastical process for dealing with issues of racial injustice and questionable mention. Not suitable for the purpose. “There is a very belated debate within the church about how to better deal with the legacy of racial injustice. “We will continue to put pressure, because that matters to our students.” Priest James Crawford, dean of Chapel at Jesus College, said the Rustat memorial was a test case for the church. “It is clear that if the Church of England wishes to take diversity and integration seriously, it cannot ignore the implications of this decision for the wider mission of the church to be a place where everyone is welcome.” A spokesman for the Church of England replied: “The power of this case has been evident throughout the proceedings and we know that the outcome is not what some people hoped for. “The proceedings of the Church of England have allowed this case to be extensively examined in court. “The parallel process for secular buildings is subject to the government’s ‘preservation and explanation’ policy formulated by the Foreign Minister. “We continue to believe that the church’s ability to take a unique approach to such cases is important, balancing heritage considerations with the unique position of churches, cathedrals and chapels as centers of living mission and ministry.”
