Stand up against racism

SPEAKING at the launch of Anti-Racism Week 2018, Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa urged South Africans to join hands with the rest of the world and “globalise the struggle against racism”.

He said that despite progress in confronting the structural legacy of apartheid, racism remained entrenched in the South African psyche.

The week is being led by Arnsa, the anti-racism network of SA, facilitated by the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.

It forms part of Human Rights Month, culminating on Human Rights Day on March 21.

This year, the event comes as we await the court’s decision on a suitable sentence for Vicky Momberg for her racist rants in 2016 when she verbally abused police officers who were trying to help her after a smash-and-grab.

We also remember Penny Sparrow and her offensive Facebook comments comparing blacks on the Durban beach over New Year to monkeys, and the H&M debacle, among others.

While the average South African will express an abhorrence of racism, sadly, discrimination and racist attitudes still pervade society, from the home to the classroom, the sports field and the public domain.

The week ahead is a reminder to us all of the need to understand the causes of racism and the pain that lives on as a result of our colonial and apartheid past.

It is a time for action, to come up with initiatives to face racism and deal with it head-on. One such initiative was Independent Media’s “Racism Stops with Me” campaign, while this year the call to action is to pledge to “Root Out Racism” wherever we find it growing.

The late Ahmed Kathrada said the fight for non-racialism was not short-term, but required “united effort and a lifetime of commitment”. This is the week to stand together and make that commitment.