The untold stories that spark outrage and why it is never only about race

In my previous blog on racism – ‘Racism Cannot Survive Justice and Humanity’ – I made the point that most blacks don’t fundamentally care about the ideology that one race might consider itself as superior to another – which is essentially the starting point for racism. This is because more and more black people feel an enact sense of accomplishment themselves and have managed to navigate complex racial dynamics with ease. So for my type, it is never about racism, it is always about justice, disgust for barbarism and for people stripping themselves of their humanity.

So, when the black lady with the unpopular wig took to the street of DC during the #blacklivesmatter demonstration and pulled her stunt about black on black killings, she sowed a seed of confusion in an already tense global scene. While some admired her twisted courage and boldness, many others were clear in exposing the ignorance which let her to pull such a crazy stunt in the first place. She failed to understand that it is never just about race, it is always about justice and humanity. And if racism is the vehicle that transports hate, injustice, barbarism, then surely we should all care. 

I compiled a few testimonies from South Africa, a country with almost identical racial tensions like the USA to further buttress the point that it is really never about race, it is always about justice. So take the black race out of the picture and replace it with any other race, these stories will still be just as painful

Let’s start with the story which continues to make global headlines. Replace George Floyd with a white guy and the heartless police officer with another white guy or any other race of your choice. Trust me, you will still feel a sense of inner pain to see a man’s life being brutally taken in broad daylight. But these injustices, these acts of hate and barbarism, constantly  happen against one  race, which is why it takes a heavy racial tone, but, it is really about justice and humanity. Someone gave up his sense of humanity in this case. Let’s explore a few more.

The nurse who lied: This happened in a hospital in Johannesburg two weeks ago. A black nurse was found with bottles of sanitiser in her handbag. On return to work the following day, she was summoned for theft and dismissed on the spot. 10 days later, a white nurse was caught with a whole lot of hospital supplies in her bag, her name was Adrean, but there was another Adrean in the hospital, a black Adrean. So she gave the surname of the black Adrean. Black Adrean was called to management next morning. Like the black sister before her, her job was up for the chopping. But black Adrean knew without a doubt that she had never taken anything from the hospital and asked for proof. Management called security and the footage showed white Adrean on camera. Guess what, management was all white and white Adrean who didn’t only steal, but who tried to pin her theft on an innocent and honourable nurse got a transfer to another hospital. She was not fired. So once again, forget racism, put any race in this story, it will be just as hurtful. It is never only about race, it is about justice, it about discrimination.

The 16 year old who ‘stole’ a sunflower:  My second example isn’t as recent. It happened in 2018 and made headlines in South Africa and beyond. A sixteen year old boy from a town called Coligny was killed by two white farmers for what they claimed was a theft of sunflowers on their property. This story was covered by every media house as you can imagine. Feel free to read any version of what really happened. Imagine for a second the 16 year old was an Indian boy, a white boy, a Chinese boy – this story will be just as painful to hear. That a young man in his teens got killed over sunflowers. So once again, it isn’t always about race but if racism is the vehicle that transports such hate, then we should all care.

The corporate hotshot who earns the same as her direct report: If you are in corporate South Africa, this might hit close to home. This example is the story  of many who are subjected to unreasonable levels of injustice in the workplace because of their blackness, the colour of their skin, the curse of their surname. In this case, a 36 year old friend had been placed on a grade much lower than the grading of the position. In fact, her position had been graded two grades higher than where she was and there was no commitment whatsoever from management to make it right. She went on to hire a white male who was placed on the same grade as her, who reported to her. While the recruitment exposed the urgency for her grade to be fixed that didn’t happen. The position was filled by a white male, in a white dominated system, no complaints. Then recruitment was launched for two positions in the team reserved for blacks – native Africans, for strategic cultural reasons. Those positions were graded to be the same level as the position of the white male, while the position of the managers was still pending rectification. Guess what, management made a decision to downgrade the positions reserved for black males by two grades. So yes, she is still in the same grade as the white male and two black men will be doing jobs two grades lower than they were graded because they are blacks. Replace the characters in this example with any other race, the pain of injustice of discrimination will still hit you if you are humane.

The auditor who almost fainted. Last but not least, this accountant was sharing her experience in a social gathering. She had just finished auditing a hotel chain and in the audit found that in this specific business chain, a third of black male and female who were in the position of Supervisor were earning three times less than their white counterparts in the same job. Three times less meant they were taking home a salary of about R13 000 while white colleagues in the same position, in the same job, with identical responsibilities were going home with R36 000. Believe it or not, this is the story of systemic racism, and it is common in our world.

And haven’t we heard of schools that change the rules around who delivers a valedictorian speech when a black kid tops the class? 

Well, there are a million of these stories all over the world, some are told and some ain’t. These stories do not only cause outrage because the victim is ever always black, they cause outrage and pain because of the systemic injustice, of the lack of fairness, of discrimination and bias. They cause hurt and pain because of the decision by a system to strip itself of justice and humanity. Once again, I challenge you to replace the characters in these stories with any other race. These will remain stories of injustice, of hate, or outright discrimination.  

And that’s why the world must never cease to care…