Sipho Seepe
12 March 2008
column
Johannesburg — ITS detractors notwithstanding, the relaunch of the Forum of Black Journalists (FBJ) bears testimony to the inadequacy of the tranquillising pill of gradualism and rainbowism.
First, History 102: During slavery, the house slaves lived with the master. And they ate well. In addition to contending with the elements, the field slaves were exposed to the worst form of ill-treatment. And they hated the master. The house slaves loved their master and sang praises to and for him. This uneven treatment of the oppressed has played itself out throughout history.
When prominent scholars such as Professors Es'kia Mphahlele and Male gapuru Makgoba spoke of their experience of racism at the University of the Witwatersrand, they were roundly condemned. Their white colleagues could rely on some black people to invalidate their experiences. Many years later, the university apologised for the manner in which it dismissed the concerns of people of colour.
The practice of using black people to discredit the experience of others is the tried and tested strategy of divide and rule.
We have witnessed this dynamic playing itself out again in the recent discussion around the relaunch of the FBJ. So-called champions of nonracialism were quick to dismiss and denigrate claims of discrimination in the newsrooms. After all, they have been exposing acts of racism everywhere. For reasons known only to them, they could proclaim that, unlike the rest of us, they have remained unaffected by the virus of racism and the privilege that accrues from the ill-treatment of others. Their entry into the debate was not to understand but to condemn. They could not see themselves as being part of the problem.
However, as scholar Peggy McIntosh noted in her celebrated article, White Privilege, this behaviour is not unusual. She observes: "I think whites are carefully taught not to recognise white privilege, as males are taught not to recognise male privilege. White privilege is an invisible package of unearned assets which I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was 'meant' to remain oblivious."
Indeed, Mail & Guardian editor Ferial Haffajee's response stands in glaring contrast to the derisive knee-jerk responses that followed the relaunch of the FBJ. Instead of assuming a dismissive posture, she entered the debate with the intention of understanding the development, and learning from it. To her amazement, her staff members pointed to the continued but subtle forms of racial discrimination in their everyday work.
Victims of discrimination should be accorded space to discuss their concerns without the tutelage of those who might be the beneficiaries of their continued alienation. They need a comfortable space to discuss their common concerns, to find clarity and craft strategies to deal with the institutionalised and systemic racism. Individual attempts to address this problem are, after all, routinely dismissed as isolated incidents and gripes from underperforming individuals. Taking on the source of your own alienation and leading that struggle is the first step away from remaining a perpetual victim. It is not a call for sympathy. It is taking charge of your destiny.
Ironically, those who have stood on the rooftops to discredit other people's experiences, shouting reverse racism, have somehow exposed their racial prejudice. In parading their blacks, they have not only sought to discredit other voices, but have sought to present black people as an undifferentiated mass lacking any public complexity.
We have made progress in eradicating racist legislation, and overt forms of discrimination are on the decrease. But we still have to eradicate subtle forms of gender and race discrimination. This starts with acknowledging our own privileges and entering a space where we seek to understand rather than denigrate other people's concerns. We need to disabuse ourselves of the notion of a South African miracle. There are no short cuts or easy answers.
Prof Seepe is president of the South African Institute of Race Relations.
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