Racism claims roil top schools
Pupils and alumni allege discrimination and double standards
● The death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests around the world have reverberated in some of SA’s elite schools, with black pupils and alumni speaking out against the racism they experienced.
About 5,000 people signed a petition against racism at Herschel Girls School in Cape Town, and matrics at the city’s Bishops Diocesan College launched a protest against racism at their institution.
Former Herschel pupil Emmanuelle Tshala, who matriculated in 2015, started the petition to highlight black pupils’ experiences.
“In light of the murder of George Floyd, I think that there was a general understanding and a general sense that this cannot go on,” she told the Sunday Times yesterday.
“A big reason why I felt compelled to do this is because we cannot wait for a person of colour to die in our schools in Cape Town or in South Africa for us to realise this is a problem.”
This week, a teacher from Pinnacle College in Kyalami, Johannesburg, Sonya de Vynck, sparked outrage when she allegedly threatened pupils that if they did not submit their work when school reopened, she would give them something to protest about and sit on their necks.
De Vynck has penned a lengthy apology, saying she is not racist and describing her comments “as a silly thing that popped into [my] head”.
De Vynck explained that there is a saying in Afrikaans, Ek gaan op jou nek lê tot jy dit doen — I’m going to lie on your neck until you do it — which is aimed at encouraging the completion of work.
“I will never put anyone down. I have shed many tears about Mr Floyd. Any person killed like that is upsetting,” said De Vynck.
Allegations of racism at the elite schools have triggered the #BlackSolidarityCampaign and the #YouSilenceWeAmplify campaign by pupils and alumni.
Mzimasi Sibeko, the #BlackSolidarityCampaign’s national convener, said Floyd’s death has “given many people across the world a voice to highlight the different treatment they experience at white establishments”.
“Such grievances are endemic in the new dispensation, and it says that just because you are a child of a wealthy black person, you will be immune to unfair racial treatment. This is an opportunity to tackle these issues.”
In Durban, Melissa Ngcobo, a former pupil at elite private school Durban Girls College (DCG), said she spoke out after the school’s student affairs head sent out an e-mail she said instructs pupils not to post about the Black Lives Matter movement.
Ngcobo said that in matric, her classmates “became more vocal but issues were swept under the rug”.
“Hair policies — a teacher threatened to shave a girl’s dreadlocks and there was a commitment from the school to deal with that, but they never did. It felt like we were just having a lot of pointless conversations that never had real results,” she said.
In a statement, DCG said it had a “zerotolerance stance towards racist behaviour” and “the board takes these claims seriously and they will be investigated thoroughly”.
“A series of conversation circles will be dedicated to providing an additional platform for ongoing discussion and the existing diversity and exclusivity committee, elected and led by the pupils themselves, will assist in the process,” the school said.
Tshala’s petition, launched on Tuesday, says Herschel, seen as one of the best schools in the province, is known for its “institutionalised racism” and “lack of inclusivity”.
In a statement, the school expressed “sadness that this is the way the students of 2019 and before have felt at school” and invited them to “communicate with us on how to do things better and to be part of this change strategy”.
At Bishops, the matric class of 2020 told outgoing principal Guy Pearson in a statement that racism “and greater intolerance has loomed over Bishops since its inception”.
The matric class listed 20 demands, including that the ground and cleaning staff’s children be given access to the same bursaries and funding schemes that are available to teachers’ children. Ground staff should also have access to better quality services and food.
Pearson confirmed that he received the memorandum and that the matrics staged a peaceful protest on Friday. He said the issues will be dealt with.
The campaign has reached top government schools, too.
Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said he has received complaints about Northcliff High School, Pretoria Boys and Pretoria Girls, as well as Pinnacle College.
“With Northcliff High we’ve formally instituted an inquiry while awaiting full reports from Pretoria Boys and Girls. I am visiting Pinnacle College on Monday at 2pm to meet with parents’ representatives and school management,” he said.
A big reason why I felt compelled to do this is because we cannot wait for a person of colour to die in our schools in South Africa for us to realise this is a problem
Emmanuelle Tshala
Former Herschel pupil