We, the people of South Africa, must fight racism

I WAS invited to speak at a debate on racism and human rights, which was held at Stellenbosch University on Thursday night. This is part of what I said:

Much of the race debate hinges on the government’s inability or unwillingness to deal with race as a major problem in our society. It is remarkable that, in a country which came through some of the worst racial oppression one can imagine, one would not want to prioritise the fight against racism.

I have a simple philosophy in life. I believe in certain values which I hold dear and I judge everyone against how they help to promote or undermine these values.

Most of the values that I hold dear can be found in the Constitution of South Africa, which was signed into law by President Nelson Mandela on December 18, 1996 and came into effect on February 4, 1997.

Our constitution is, of course, viewed by many as one of the most progressive in the world, and it is a beautiful and well-written document.

The preamble to the constitution says: We, the people of South Africa, Recognise the injustices of our past;

Honour those who suffered for justice and freedom in our land;

Respect those who have worked to build and develop our country; and, Believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

These are beautiful words and the rest of the constitution tries to give life to these words. In the founding provisions of the constitution, for instance, it states that, among South Africa’s founding values are “human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms; and non-racialism and non-sexism”.

Most of the rights enshrined in the Bill of Rights, which is Chapter 2 of the constitution, take into consideration our racist history and legacy. Many of these rights are still contested, based on how different so-called race groups perceived their influence and impact on their group.

One can think of freedom of expression, which is something lots of racists hide behind when they are caught out. The right to free expression does not give you the right to be racist. Nothing gives you the right to be racist.

But despite our constitution, not much has changed in South Africa as far as racism is concerned. For many people, especially those in poorer communities, apartheid has never ended.

And can you blame them when they still live in apartheid-created dormitory townships and continue to struggle in their lowly-paid jobs, that is if they are lucky to have one and do not find themselves among the millions of unemployed?

Racism is one of the reasons so many of our people are still being denied basic human rights today. But much of this also relates to class. In a country such as South Africa, where the majority of poor people are black, and the majority of rich people are white, it is easy to conflate and confuse the two.

Racism is essentially a class issue. It is far more difficult to be racist towards people who have more money, influence and power, although there are many who think they can be racist irrespective of the class status of the person they are dealing with.

Racism is difficult to define, perhaps because race is difficult to define. But racism often becomes an easy way to explain something that could be more complex.

Racism is highly complex and there is no correct way to deal with it. Sometimes it helps to get angry, but sometimes it is better to try to educate the perpetrators. Sometimes it is best just to walk away.

Racism will not be rooted out in one generation. In fact, I feel it will probably never be rooted out.

I have done plenty of work to fight against racism in my life and most of the time it is almost like taking one step forward and two steps backwards.

Once one has successfully worked with a group of people, one realises there are many more groups who need help.

All of us who are conscious of racism and the dangers it poses need to commit ourselves to doing everything in our power to make it disappear.

We cannot depend only on the government. We cannot depend only on business. We cannot depend only on civil society. As Barney Pityana famously said (and this quote is erroneously attributed to Steve Biko): Black man, you’re on your own.