Racism: laws alone can’t change how people think

THIS week marked 127 years since Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was thrown off a train in Pietermaritzburg because he was sitting in a “whites-only” coach.

Gandhi had a valid ticket but a white passenger objected to having to share the confined space with a black man.

This month also marks 29 years that racial classification officially ended in South Africa. On June 17, 1991, Parliament repealed the Population Registration Act, ending four decades of classifying people by their skin colour.

This classification shaped their future. If you were white, you had resources and opportunities. If you were black, these were scarce. It is a legacy that continues to shape our society. It has also resulted in stereotypes.

As the author Hlumelo Biko said, the “black equals lazy and incompetent” stereotype contrasted with the “white equals all-knowing and powerful” stereotype.

Our democratic elections in 1994 gave every South African an opportunity to make a fresh start, to bury the stereotypes and the hatred of the past.

But in too many homes that did not happen. That’s why the Penny Sparrows of this world continue to make headlines. What’s more, they pass their hatred and prejudice on to their children.

America has a similar, deep-rooted history of racial discrimination.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, there were no black Americans present. Neither were there Native Americans or women.

The document declared that all men were created equal and they had certain rights.

These included the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Ironically, most of those who signed the document were slave owners. Among them was Thomas Jefferson who is recognised as the main author of the declaration.

It was only in the 1960s that discrimination in the workplace was prohibited and black Americans were allowed to vote without having to pay a tax.

However, the death of George Floyd has proved that laws alone cannot change how people think and act.

His death sparked protests across the world under the banner “Black Lives Matter”. It highlights the violence and racism directed at black people.

The protests are important. So too is the support on social media because it focuses attention on an injustice that has been perpetuated for centuries.

However, those who have taken to the streets and shown support online are converted. We have to find ways to win over the non-believers because they need to be saved from themselves.

As Gandhi said: “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings.”