Black Lives Matter, To Most

 

Title: In South Africa, Police Violence Isn’t Black and White

Summary: In countries where Black Lives Matter exists, such as the US, UK, and Canada, police violence is a black and white issue. Conversely, in South Africa, a country engulfed by a legacy of apartheid and racial hierarchies, for mixed race (a.k.a. colored) individuals, police violence is more nuanced/grey. In South Africa, colored people are the minority, and because of their deep history with apartheid and colonialism, they feel neglected and unseen. Apartheid forced this diverse group of mixed people into one group, known as colored. Because of this, colored people began to believe they were not Black. The colonizers of South Africa furthered the colored people’s feeling of superiority by separating the groups, furthering the idea that the Blacks were inferior. For example, being referred to as a “Bantu” in the colored community was extremely hurtful, as it was a slur meant to be used on a Black person. The author of the article shared one way the slur was used was by elders in order to get someone to behave. 

The obvious differences between the two groups was only furthered when a sixteen year old colored boy, named Nathaniel Julies, was shot dead for no apparent reason in his predominately colored neighborhood. The teenager had down syndrome, and he was killed by a Black police officer only a few feet away from his house on a walk to get a biscuit from a local store. The violent incident only furthered the hatred and frustration colored people in South Africa’s society have toward the Black majority government.

Analysis: A lot needs to be done in order for South Africa to combat this issue. In my opinion, for a country that has experienced harsh and unjust discrimination and segregation in the past, they are starting to move in the right direction. During apartheid, the colored South Africans were pawns or active participants in a system that brutally and systematically oppressed their Black brethren. I feel as though being bystanders to the apartheid laws has now allowed the Black majority to justify the killings of some colored people such as Nathaniel Julies. I believe the hatred colored people have towards the Black South Africans needs to be followed with action. The removal of apartheid laws should have been followed by the removal of colored people’s feeling of superiority. One way to combat the issue at hand is getting colored South Africans in political power. Another way to combat the issue could be teaching kids in South Africa about the Black vs. colored war that is going on. Without proper education on the subject, the country risks facing another apartheid, or even mimicking the Rwandan Genocide. 

Discussion Question: Do you think a colored South African could be successfully elected to political office despite being a minority and feeling ostracized in their own country?