Racism against black people is barbaric and should be removed from all societies worldwide, a South African opposition leader said on Wednesday.
Opposition Economic Freedom Fighters’ Chief Whip in Parliament, Floyd Shivambu said this during a virtual National Assembly debate on Solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement in Cape Town.
The theme of the debate is “Reinforcing the Commitment of All South Africans to Confront and Defeat Individual and Institutionalised Racism in Our Society and Everywhere It exists.”
“Racism is what led to slavery, colonialism, the continued invasion of our lands, and the continued theft of African resources,” Shivambu said.
He said racism “is the continuous police brutality against black people in many parts of the world.”
“Racism is when a pandemic starts in China among its own people but black people are blamed for it, they are attacked and assaulted as having brought the Covid-19 to their communities,” the politician said.
Shivambu also likened racism to “an ideology and the underpinning principle of capitalism.”
“Racism is the massive economic inequalities that exist between black and white people, where white people’s dogs, cats, and pets have better medical aid and better treatment than black domestic workers.”
Apart from the Black Lives Matter Movement, the debate was also fortified by this country’s black cricket players who recently complained in the press of being isolated and ignored by their white teammates during field trips.
On his part, South African Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Ronald Lamola said there was need for the nation to resolve class and race challenges which continued to haunt the country today.
“When we speak of #BlackLivesMatter, we must understand that it is part of our historical legacy. We live in a world where colonialism, the legacy of racist capitalism and its pervasive racial inequality, still persists,” Lamola said.
NM/jn/APA