There’s only one race: the human race

The racism debate needs to emanate from the portals of our homes, writes Vijay Surujpal

Racist utterances are indicative of a fractured painful past that’s going to haunt us for a long time. The dismantling of apartheid does not mean racism is going to disappear anytime soon. The wounds of the past need to heal before the country can turn the page. Recent laws, while playing an integral role to keep one’s words in check, may be a deterent, but it’s fundamentally about a change of attitude.

Laws do not bring about conformity. It is behavioural patterns about different race groupings that can impact positively on this racism debate.

The racism debate needs to emanate from the portals of our homes. Family structures need to preach the philosophy that there is only one race and that is the human race.

This ideology may seem farfetched when we begin to unpack it from an adult perspective. Children do not see race as a determining factor in any situation unless they are indoctrinated at home to do so.

A child’s mind is like a sponge so let’s saturate it not to be narrow-minded and concentrate on race or race terminology that is demeaning and denigrating.

If children can be taught to be responsible for their actions, there can be promise of a sophisticated new generation who look beyond race to find solutions in our country.