Big litmus test for racism in our country

The reaction to one South African cricketer supporting the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has triggered more than just a controversial debate.

It has highlighted perhaps the biggest problem we face in trying to move forward as a nation.

Nearly three decades after unity, there is still a clear racial divide in this country, and the backlash faced by Proteas fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been nothing short of ridiculous.

His response to a question about Black Lives Matter – obviously voicing his support for the movement – was met with a sense of fury which doesn’t even make sense.

Ngidi simply believes, as most people seem to agree, that black lives matter. That’s all he said.

What he did not say is that white lives don’t matter.

What he did not say is that we should have stricter quotas in sport.

What he did not say is that farmers deserve to be killed.

He said none of these things, yet if some people had their way, he would have to defend all those views which he hasn’t even shared.

Yes, of course white lives matter, but white people have not been severely oppressed for generations, and we don’t need to fight for the rights of people who already have opportunities. We need to fight for those who don’t.

At least this controversy has provided us with a basic litmus test for racism.

Put simply, if you feel the need to respond to “Black Lives Matter” with the claim that “All Lives Matter”, you have failed the test and you’re part of the problem.

When one black athlete points out that there are still racial issues in SA sport, and he is told to shut up, that’s a serious concern.

And when hundreds of other black athletes agree, and still there’s no attempt from some on the other side to listen, that’s an even bigger concern.

Lungi Ngidi’s comment, which was mild at best, shouldn’t have been controversial. It should instead have urged all of us to do a little introspection and consider how much we can make a difference by accepting our faults and working on them to ensure that equality is not just a pipe dream.

Athletes from various codes have stood up in support of Ngidi.

But for racism to stop, black people can’t just talk and

white people (all of us) need to listen. It starts by saying three words without attaching anything to it – “Black lives matter”.

It’s as simple as that.