Efforts to ‘Decolonize’ Shakespeare’s Hometown Exposes DEI’s Double Standards

Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust reportedly aims to build a “more inclusive museum experience” and will “decolonize” William Shakespeare’s hometown Stratford-upon-Avon because his work advanced “white supremacy” and also contains language that is “racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise harmful.”

My colleague Dan McLaughlin, in offering a detailed historical account that explains why “there was nothing colonialist about Shakespeare,” appropriately posed the following question to the trust’s employees: “Are you people idiots?” Quite frankly, I’m not inclined to defend Shakespeare against charges of racism, since I imagine most National Review readers share my view on the matter. I do think, however, it is worth asking what cultural, political, and ideological forces sustain the progressive campaign of destruction that gained momentum in 2020.

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Abigail Anthony

Abigail Anthony is a staff writer at National Review.

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Defending Western Civilization

Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust reportedly aims to build a “more inclusive museum experience” and will “decolonize” William Shakespeare’s hometown Stratford-upon-Avon because his work advanced “white supremacy” and also contains language that is “racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise harmful.”

My colleague Dan McLaughlin, in offering a detailed historical account that explains why “there was nothing colonialist about Shakespeare,” appropriately posed the following question to the trust’s employees: “Are you people idiots?” Quite frankly, I’m not inclined to defend Shakespeare against charges of racism, since I imagine most National Review readers share my view on the matter. I do think, however, it is worth asking what cultural, political, and ideological forces sustain the progressive campaign of destruction that gained momentum in 2020.