Racism needs to be addressed through honest dialogue, says an activist. [Picture: CDC]
Be it a school in Pretoria or in Cape Town where racism raises its ugly head, it is time for South Africans to start talking seriously about racism within our society. So says Hendrick Makaneta, an activist in the education space.
Speaking in an interview with Salaamedia on Wednesday, he said ignoring the issue of racism – which had deep roots in the country – was one way to ensure it continued, with an outburst here and there every so often.
“We left everything to society … We don’t really have dialogue on racism in schools. That is why the issue will, in one way or the other, creep out from time to time,” he said.
Makaneta’s comments came after footage emerged of Coloured learners in Pinelands, Cape Town, allegedly caging their Black classmates and conducting a mock slave auction. Another incident allegedly occurred in Pretoria, where White learners created a Whites-only WhatsApp group.
Racism was a pervasive issue that demanded “collaboration amongst learners”, he said. Simply organising a march and decrying racism everytime an incident occurred was not an effective way to tackle the issue, he added.
“We need to be honest with ourselves, start to have dialogues on race and let the students take part in such. To just work with discipline alone or to have organisations marching to say so-and-so should be suspended does not necessarily mean the issue will die automatically because of those actions.”
He said schools were a second home for children and so management ought to have stepped up to fulfil their roles.
“It’s a multiracial society. Black and White learners converge into this home called a school where there are parents called the principal and the teachers. In such a setting, the management should have a way to deal with such issues, to make sure that they integrate our learners,” he said.
