The issue of racism has once again been front page news in recent weeks. Its damaging manifestation is a reminder that it is one issue we cannot afford to wish away.It is obvious to most South Africans that racism remains a key challenge to our democracy. As such, as a society we owe it to ourselves to engage with this issue with truthfulness and openness. Inequalities created and institutionalized by apartheid are still prevalent 18 years into the new dispensation. Coupled with attitudinal shift, combating these inequalities in all their manifestations would be one way of addressing this challenge rather than waiting till we are shocked by a demeaning act such as statements made by Jessica Leandra, Darren Scott, Steve Hofmeyer, Ken Sinclair to name a few.
What we cannot overemphasise is the fact that we cannot undo the legacy of a unique system such as apartheid overnight. It is our responsibility to continuously strive towards reconciliation, transformation and nationhood as South Africans black and white. After all, nation states are political constructs and therefore have to be consistently moulded through social engineering. It is dangerous to our democracy for anyone in this society to hold the view that racism is a given. Since time immemorial all justifications advanced by apologists of this prejudice have been proven untrue. That notwithstanding, some people in our society are still prone to racism and this psychic problem is what we have to address.
As a country, we have to confront and truthfully engage with issues of social justice. Identity politics in which challenges such as racism, clannism, ethnicity and the like become pronounced find fertile ground in a society faced by scandalous socio-economic differentiations such as South Africa. Efforts towards integration in our society need not be hampered by those among us who subscribe to racism and its attendant virulence. Nowhere provides a better point of departure than our institutions of learning for these are meant to be spaces for proper socialisation and character formation in our society. We are alert to the fact that many people in South Africa, not least young people, will continue grappling with integration much as we strive to overcome the apartheid legacy.
The constitution must provide recourse to those aggrieved as a result of racism much as it may be sometimes difficult for the law to define an offence as having been purely racial. Equality courts are a promising step towards that direction. However, sensitisation needs to be carried out so as to alert people to their existence and role in arbitrating prejudice related offences. Consistent denunciation of racism by top government leadership as well as other leaders in different spheres of our society would be important in promoting coexistence, especially to young growing minds. Racism is a scourge that humiliates both the perpetrator as well as the victim and so we need to guard ourselves against it lest we lose our dignity.
Regards
A. Mjokozeli
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