Schools must show real change

Believe it or not, there is a connection between the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police in the US, the toppling of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, England, and the eruption on social media of bitter complaints about racism posted by past and present students of SA’s elite white schools.

What is it about the killing of George Floyd? Black men especially are regularly harassed, beaten, imprisoned and killed in the US.

That is a sad and brutal fact that is so commonplace that it no longer shocks as it should.

Sometimes, however, those events provoke intense local and even national reaction, as in the 1992 circular beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles policemen or the 2014 shooting to death of Michael Brown by a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri.

However, no black man’s death — even the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr — has generated massive and sustained protests not only across the US but in capitals around the world from London, Paris, Berlin and Auckland to countries like Brazil, Iran, Syria and Canada. Why?

I think the main reason for the intense reaction to the death of this black man is that this was as close as one could come to witnessing a slow-motion (eight minutes and 36 seconds), extrajudicial, racial killing recorded in plain sight.

Floyd’s death sparked fury around the world because it evoked raw memory of racial oppression in the past, and racial harassment and marginalisation in the present.

The hashtag movement BlackLivesMatter would take to the streets and trigger actions unimaginable a year ago such as the Mississippi legislature voting to remove the confederate symbol from the state flag, Nascar banning confederate flags at its rallies or the famed Princeton University taking down the statue and names of a former president, Woodrow Wilson, from its buildings.

All because of one horrific killing when a white policeman dug his knee into the soft tissue of a black man’s neck as he pleaded for his life (“I can’t breathe”) and called for his late mother even as life slowly ebbed away.

From the private boys’ school in Cape Town (Bishops) to the public girls’ school in Pretoria (Pretoria High School for Girls), pupils in about 20 elite institutions have demanded action on racism in their schools.

After some schools initially tried to shut down some of these embarrassing social media postings, most responded with an unusual openness to having courageous conversations on a difficult subject.

Invited to work with several of these schools in the past few days, here are some practical ways forward.

First, things not to do. Do not shy away from the problem.

The fact that you as a white principal or teacher cannot see racism does not mean that it does not exist for victims of racial microaggressions in the everyday lives of former white schools. Do not respond by doing silly things like sensitivity training for teachers or cultural days for different “racial groups” or principal speeches about loving one another.

Do not ask teachers (one school actually did this) whether they think they are racist; you know what they’re going to say.

Second, things to do. Acknowledge the reality of racism in your school.

Take a public stand against racism.

Here is an example worth imitating. If you go to the website of Redhill School (redhill.co.za), this is what you read on the front page: Redhill School stands against racism and all forms of discrimination.

Create safe spaces where black students (and others who experience discrimination such as LGBQT students) can bring their complaints and concerns without any fear of exposure or victimisation.

Act swiftly against perpetrators whether they be teachers or students.

Most important, change the conditions that breed such racism in the first place. Look at your teachers.

If you at this point in SA history (26 years into democracy) still have less than 40-50% black teachers and the only black African teacher is the one teaching an African language, I can tell you now that you are not serious about transforming your school.

If you still have majority white pupils in your enrolments, I do not believe that your school intends to change at all.

If you are intent on running a white-dominant school in SA, you should expect more pupils and parents to challenge the status quo.

This model of racialised schooling is simply not sustainable.

Schools — and universities — are good at institutional posturing; pretending to do the right thing until the storm blows over.

The George Floyd moment in world history offers us a unique opportunity to do what is right for a change.