The candour of institutionalised racism in higher education

The genesis of the topic for the inaugural lecture of the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Faculty of Humanities dean, Professor Shose Kessi, can be traced to a presentation she delivered at a seminar in September 2014.

On 19 March, Professor Kessi delivered her much-anticipated inaugural lecture – “S#*t happens: A decolonial feminist psychological reflection on institutional racism in higher education” – to a packed audience at the Neville Alexander Building. The lecture, which was both candid and deeply reflective, traced the evolution of key debates about ‘race’ and institutional transformation at UCT, positioning them within broader struggles for decolonisation in higher education.

At the heart of the lecture was a pivotal moment in 2014 when Kessi, then a scholar presenting research on the experiences of black students at UCT, found herself at the centre of an unexpected encounter. During a seminar at the Institute for Humanities in Africa (HUMA), her presentation on student experiences touched on the symbolic weight of the Cecil John Rhodes statue. In attendance was then-Vice-Chancellor Dr Max Price, alongside students and student leaders. What began as a research discussion soon turned into a charged debate on institutional racism and transformation, foreshadowing the Rhodes Must Fall movement that would take shape in 2015.

However, Kessi’s work extends far beyond that moment. Her research into the sociopsychology of racism in higher education has critically examined how black students navigate exclusionary academic spaces. She highlighted the admissions policy debate at UCT, in which calls to remove race as a criterion for admission sparked a divisive discourse in the media. Narratives emerged portraying black students as threats to academic standards and perpetuating arguments around ‘reverse racism’ and the supposed irrelevance of race in contemporary South Africa.

“It became evident that black students were experiencing everyday forms of overt and covert racism in classrooms, residences and other public spaces across the campus.”

“It is difficult to fully convey what the institutional climate was like at the time of the admissions debate, but those media articles were vicious and relentless; and as a scholar working on the socio-psychology of racism – as a black scholar, personally affected by these debates – and as a teacher, I wanted to find out how students were navigating this. How they felt about what was being said about them, and what impact it had on their psyche, their sense of belonging and [their] ability to perform academically.”

In response, Kessi turned to photovoice, a participatory research method that enables individuals to document their experiences through photography and written reflections. Establishing UCT’s first photovoice lab, in the Psychology Department, she used this approach to capture the realities of black students – grappling with financial exclusion, Eurocentric curricula, and academic scrutiny. “Reflecting on the stories, it became evident that black students were experiencing everyday forms of overt and covert racism in classrooms, residences and other public spaces across campus,” she noted. “They complained about the inaccessibility of tuition fees, the Eurocentric curriculum, the stigma of others who questioned how they got accepted into various fields of study, being overly scrutinised in their assignments, and the stigma associated with being assigned to extended degree programmes. All of which impacted on access, belonging and well-being.”

Institutional change is an ongoing process

For Kessi, photovoice is not merely a research tool – it represents resistance and a decolonial practice. Grounded in the tradition of South African community psychology, her work challenges the discipline’s historical complicity in systems of oppression. “Photovoice is a form of community mobilisation, social action and resistance, and is one way of redeeming the discipline of psychology and emphasising the role of academia to not only describe the world, but to change it,” she explained.

As UCT nears the tenth anniversary of the removal of the Rhodes statue, Kessi’s lecture served as both a commemoration and a critical reflection on the ongoing work of transformation. She paid tribute to the students who spearheaded the Rhodes Must Fall movement, recognising their intellectual contributions and the lasting impact of their activism. More than a retrospective, her inaugural lecture was a powerful call to action – an affirmation that institutional change is an ongoing process, requiring sustained engagement and critical scholarship.

Her lecture also paid tribute to the work of the UCT Black Academic Caucus (BAC), tracing the circumstances of its establishment, its role in calling out institutional racism and its significant contribution to institution-building following the Rhodes Must Fall protests.

She reflected on her role in co-founding the BAC in 2014, describing it as a key intervention in shaping the university’s transformation agenda. As the first chairperson, she spearheaded a transformation agenda for the university that emphasised diversity and inclusion, and that centred African knowledge as the gateway to academic excellence and innovation with a global impact.

Her appointment as dean of Humanities marked a significant moment in UCT’s history; not just in recognition of her academic excellence, but as a testament to the role of research in reshaping higher education. In her leadership, she embodies a commitment to decolonial scholarship, community-centred methodologies, and the pursuit of a truly inclusive university.