Race must not divide us again
July 31, 2006 Edition 1
Angered by an article in the Cape Argus last week, ANC head of presidency Smuts Ngonyama says non-racialism cannot be achieved without being forthright about the inequalities that still exist.
Given the untold suffering and trauma caused by South Africa's long history of racial discrimination and oppression, it is not surprising that the desire for the creation of a non-racial society is so prominent on our national agenda.
This objective stood at the heart of the anti-apartheid struggle, and remains today a central pillar of the common programme of the ANC and its alliance partners.
This idea was succinctly stated just over 50 years ago in the preamble to the Freedom Charter - that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white. What was once a revolutionary affront to the apartheid political establishment is now the basis of our democracy and enshrined in the most fundamental of laws, our national constitution.
Emerging from a past in which the colour of one's skin was used to define one's place in a grossly unequal and exploitative system, it is not surprising that the vast majority of South Africans of all races should seek the achievement of a society in which features such as race, ethnicity, gender, language, culture or background can no longer serve as a basis either for exclusion or privilege. They seek a society that is colour blind.
In recent days, a number of commentators and media institutions have weighed in with the suggestion that the ANC is threatening the achievement of a "colour- blind" society by "bringing back the language of racial division".
This line of argument has found fertile ground particularly among the newspapers and political groupings of the Western Cape.
The Cape Argus, in an article published last Tuesday, claimed that the long-standing strategic objective of the ANC and alliance partners to achieve "the liberation of blacks in general and Africans in particular from political and economic bondage" amounted to an assertion by the ANC that Africans should come before coloureds in the "equity queue".
It would be interesting to find out why the article spoke only of Africans (who were referred to as "blacks") and coloureds. The fact that whites and Indians did not figure in this strange interpretation would suggest that the article was written with an eye firmly on a particular political agenda.
Since the democratic breakthrough of 1994, those on the right of the political spectrum have described the efforts of the ANC-led government to redress the racial inequalities of the past (and present) as "reverse racism" leading to the "re-racialisation" of society. This, we were told, reflected the ANC's "obsession with race".
Despite the obvious flaws in logic - one can't, for example, re-racialise a society until it has been de-racialised - this political line has been pursued by the opposition in an effort to dissuade the democratic movement from acting to change the prevailing patterns of privilege and disadvantage.
This line has also been used to win support from those sectors of society which can be persuaded to think they stand to lose from the affirmation of those previously disadvantaged on the basis of race.
While this may explain the support for the DA among white voters, this line has had less success among the majority of Indian and coloured voters.
Having been disadvantaged in the past by racially discriminatory laws, Indians and coloureds stand to benefit from processes of black empowerment, employment equity and restitution.
While the ANC is the single largest party among coloured and Indian voters, the voting "loyalties" of these sections of the electorate are more diverse than among whites or Africans. To win the support of these voters, the political parties of the right need to persuade them that the ANC is intent on privileging Africans to the exclusion of other previously disadvantaged groups like coloureds and Indians.
This is particularly important in a place like Cape Town, where the DA considers its tenuous hold on political pow
er dependent on creating antagonism and fuelling tension between the coloured and African communities.
That is why the Cape Argus headline - "Blacks before coloureds in equity queue, says ANC" - is not merely an innocent misinterpretation of ANC policy. It is a political statement intended to further a specific political agenda.
What, then, is ANC policy? And how does it respond to the desire of the masses of ordinary South Africans of all races for a society that is "colour blind"?
The ANC proceeds from the understanding that we cannot eradicate racial inequality by pretending it doesn't exist.
We cannot work towards the achievement of a non-racial society without analysing and articulating how racial discrimination and oppression have affected our society - and continue to this day to impact on the lives, choices and opportunities of our people.
It remains a tragic reality that, despite the removal of apartheid's discriminatory legislation, the economic and social position of most South Africans remains connected to the colour of their skin. Wealth remains overwhelmingly in the hands of whites. Poverty remains overwhelmingly the preserve of blacks - which includes Africans, coloureds and Indians, in different proportions and to varying degrees.
Alongside and intersecting with these racial inequalities are inequalities based on gender and class.
It is in response to these historical realities that the ANC has crafted its strategic objective, the achievement of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society. Understanding both our past and our present, this entails the liberation of blacks in general and Africans in particular.
Therefore, throughout the policies and programmes of the ANC-led government runs a common thread - the proactive affirmation of all those South Africans who are disadvantaged as a consequence of discriminatory practices.
It was for this reason that the Employment Equity Act of 1998 promotes affirmative action measures to redress the disadvantages experienced by a range of designated groups - including blacks (Africans, coloureds and Indians), women and people with disabilities - to ensure their equitable representation in all occupational categories and levels in the workforce.
The ANC seeks not the creation of new racial preferences, but the equitable representation of all South Africans in the workforce and in accessing other social and economic opportunities.
Most South Africans abhor the artificial racial categories that were thrust upon us by colonialism and apartheid. Yet we are bound to use them if only for the sole purpose of measuring the extent of our progress towards a truly non-racial South Africa.
We cannot achieve real non-racialism without being forthright about the racial inequalities that still exist. We cannot hope to be "colour blind" when colour remains such a persistent determinant of social and economic status. While we are still engaged in the struggle for racial equality, it seems there are none so colour blind as those who will not see and honestly acknowledge the current South African reality.
We call on all South Africans, and particularly the communities of the Western Cape, not to allow themselves to be divided once again by the arguments of those who seek to maintain their privileged position in society. We call on all communities to unite in building a non-racial South Africa which is indeed a home for all.
