Anti-racism week: in pursuit of nonracialism
by Mmusi Maimane,
2016-03-17 05:49:08.0
THIS week marks the beginning of SA’s first "Anti-Racism Week", a nationwide campaign that seeks to create public awareness and facilitate engagement around the issue of racism in SA.
In January this year, I launched a similar campaign as leader of the opposition, entitled Stand Up, Speak Out, which is an ongoing series of dialogues involving South Africans from all walks of life.
These initiatives aim to probe the persistence of racial inequality in our country and the racism it engenders. If we are to have any hope of healing our national wounds, this is a conversation we must continue to have.
And it starts with agreeing that our ultimate goals are reconciliation and nonracialism.
Many groups, both radical and conservative, will no doubt attempt to use "Anti-Racism Week" as an opportunity to continue dividing us along racial lines. They will spew damaging rhetoric that represents but a fraction of our nation. These groups will argue that you cannot celebrate your own identity without demonising another. This thinking is an apartheid legacy which we must dismantle, and do so fast.
Though building the new always requires an acknowledgment of the old, our focus must be on moving forward.
This year’s series of racist comments ought to renew our commitment to a nonracial future for SA, not tear us apart.
Apartheid’s half-century was the final damning chapter of a 342-year story of profound black African suffering, dehumanisation, impoverishment and unjust exile; a story of absolute racism many believed could only end with war and destruction.
Despite this torturous history, we managed to fashion for ourselves a democracy with a robust constitution, one of the greatest triumphs of the late 20th century. In so doing, we began a new story of nonracialism. We began to work towards the ideal of a society in which "race" does not define people’s land ownership, economic circumstances or educational potential.
We still have a long way to go. Our immature democracy is reaching a critical point. Hope for change is no longer enough. Patience is wearing out. A mere 22 years into democracy, ignorant public displays of racism are symptoms of a society still deeply in need of reconciliation and transformation. Racial slurs and violence increase the risk of regression.
But 22 years in, we also see a hunger for progress in peaceful protest and demands for access to education.
The African National Congress’s power is no longer assured. Nelson Mandela and those he inspired set us in the right direction, but at this point, the momentum must translate into real transformation and better quality of life, not just empty promises.
There is a moral obligation on each one of us to bring this change about.
In this election year, each of us can bring about change through our vote. This requires us to start basing our political choices on values, ideas and performance rather than on race. We must build an SA for generations to come.
My vision for the Democratic Alliance (DA) is to build a broad centre that can be a political home for all South Africans, no matter their age, income, gender, sexual orientation, religion or racial identity. Respect for the Constitution and the principle of nonracialism entrenched therein is at the very core of the DA’s philosophy. That is why the DA is the most diverse party in SA, whether you consider our voter base, membership, public representatives, operations or leadership.
Under my leadership, this diversity will continue to grow as we become a voice for the unemployed and a beacon of hope for the poor, who have been abandoned by the politics of patronage practised by President Jacob Zuma’s ANC. Every metro and municipality we win in 2016 will experience the DA difference of clean government that puts the people first.
Racism was spawned by colonialism and apartheid. We continue to breathe life into it through thoughtless language, racial politics and poor governance that perpetuates cycles of poverty.
Nationally, the DA will defend policies that fight racism and its legacy — policies based on global realities that can deliver the economic growth necessary to create jobs and tackle poverty, equip our children with world-class education and skills and deliver truly broad-based black economic empowerment.
Having lost its ability to retain support through service delivery and clean government, the ANC is now mobilising on the divisive basis of race and history. Meanwhile, the politics being peddled by the Economic Freedom Fighters would deliver us social transformation of the Zimbabwean variety. These are short-term, short-sighted offers.
We must keep focus on the long-term goal of nonracialism in a society founded on the values of freedom, fairness and opportunity. We must settle for nothing less than clean governance that can deliver the services and inclusive economic growth necessary to systematically dismantle the racial divisions in our society. Only then will we have truly defeated racism.
• Maimane MP is the leader of the Democratic Alliance
Mmusi Maimane. Picture: TREVOR SAMSON
THIS week marks the beginning of SA’s first "Anti-Racism Week", a nationwide campaign that seeks to create public awareness and facilitate engagement around the issue of racism in SA.
In January this year, I launched a similar campaign as leader of the opposition, entitled Stand Up, Speak Out, which is an ongoing series of dialogues involving South Africans from all walks of life.
These initiatives aim to probe the persistence of racial inequality in our country and the racism it engenders. If we are to have any hope of healing our national wounds, this is a conversation we must continue to have.
And it starts with agreeing that our ultimate goals are reconciliation and nonracialism.
Many groups, both radical and conservative, will no doubt attempt to use "Anti-Racism Week" as an opportunity to continue dividing us along racial lines. They will spew damaging rhetoric that represents but a fraction of our nation. These groups will argue that you cannot celebrate your own identity without demonising another. This thinking is an apartheid legacy which we must dismantle, and do so fast.
Though building the new always requires an acknowledgment of the old, our focus must be on moving forward.
This year’s series of racist comments ought to renew our commitment to a nonracial future for SA, not tear us apart.
Apartheid’s half-century was the final damning chapter of a 342-year story of profound black African suffering, dehumanisation, impoverishment and unjust exile; a story of absolute racism many believed could only end with war and destruction.
Despite this torturous history, we managed to fashion for ourselves a democracy with a robust constitution, one of the greatest triumphs of the late 20th century. In so doing, we began a new story of nonracialism. We began to work towards the ideal of a society in which "race" does not define people’s land ownership, economic circumstances or educational potential.
We still have a long way to go. Our immature democracy is reaching a critical point. Hope for change is no longer enough. Patience is wearing out. A mere 22 years into democracy, ignorant public displays of racism are symptoms of a society still deeply in need of reconciliation and transformation. Racial slurs and violence increase the risk of regression.
But 22 years in, we also see a hunger for progress in peaceful protest and demands for access to education.
The African National Congress’s power is no longer assured. Nelson Mandela and those he inspired set us in the right direction, but at this point, the momentum must translate into real transformation and better quality of life, not just empty promises.
There is a moral obligation on each one of us to bring this change about.
In this election year, each of us can bring about change through our vote. This requires us to start basing our political choices on values, ideas and performance rather than on race. We must build an SA for generations to come.
My vision for the Democratic Alliance (DA) is to build a broad centre that can be a political home for all South Africans, no matter their age, income, gender, sexual orientation, religion or racial identity. Respect for the Constitution and the principle of nonracialism entrenched therein is at the very core of the DA’s philosophy. That is why the DA is the most diverse party in SA, whether you consider our voter base, membership, public representatives, operations or leadership.
Under my leadership, this diversity will continue to grow as we become a voice for the unemployed and a beacon of hope for the poor, who have been abandoned by the politics of patronage practised by President Jacob Zuma’s ANC. Every metro and municipality we win in 2016 will experience the DA difference of clean government that puts the people first.
Racism was spawned by colonialism and apartheid. We continue to breathe life into it through thoughtless language, racial politics and poor governance that perpetuates cycles of poverty.
Nationally, the DA will defend policies that fight racism and its legacy — policies based on global realities that can deliver the economic growth necessary to create jobs and tackle poverty, equip our children with world-class education and skills and deliver truly broad-based black economic empowerment.
Having lost its ability to retain support through service delivery and clean government, the ANC is now mobilising on the divisive basis of race and history. Meanwhile, the politics being peddled by the Economic Freedom Fighters would deliver us social transformation of the Zimbabwean variety. These are short-term, short-sighted offers.
We must keep focus on the long-term goal of nonracialism in a society founded on the values of freedom, fairness and opportunity. We must settle for nothing less than clean governance that can deliver the services and inclusive economic growth necessary to systematically dismantle the racial divisions in our society. Only then will we have truly defeated racism.
• Maimane MP is the leader of the Democratic Alliance
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