#decolonize

Relearn to relate.

Racism at Home and Abroad: Julius Malema Draws a Line In the Azanian Soil Against White Supremacy

There is much here for Europeans, Africans and others in USAmerica to consider. To miss the possible linkages between racism and white supremacy in Azania/South Africa and the USAmerica would be to miss how racism works at all,  that it is not just a domestic issue between individuals, not just transient transactions of "hate". Racism works in a context of nationalized and internationalized/globalized power.

In north America we must acknowledge and struggle for alliance with the indigenous peoples whose lives were/are so seriously affected by European colonialism and the racist structures it developed. The ongoing genocide and oppression of indigenous peoples is central to the empowerment of European/white supremacy and racism in Canada, the USAmerica (and Hawaii), Mexico and beyond. In Azania, Africans are the indigenous people. This is an important distinction, not an inert nuance. We must be able to see how racism obscures the struggle to understand the negative and the liberating relationships to land and culture.

Here, Malema calls racism out and draws a line that must be drawn everywhere....if we are serious about freedom and justice. Notice the similarity in the European reactions/responses to strong statements of self-determination by Africans in South Africa or Africans and others in USAmerica,  i.e., Black Lives Matter etc... Racism/white supremacy has global intentions and global effects.

From the article:

""We will never tolerate white supremacy, racism. Down with racism, down!”

Malema is the only party leader in South Africa thus far who has boldly spoken to and challenged the ongoing problem of racism in our society. His call for the dismantling of racist institutions and practice in South Africa is a promise to people who have been directly affected by pervasive white supremacy that this issue is high on their party’s agenda.

“We will not be speaking this reconciliation nonsense, which only perpetuates white supremacy,” he assured the masses of largely economically disenfranchised followers gathered in the streets of Sandton.

Many white people responded to Malema’s anti-racism utterances on social media by denying being white supremacists or racists.

They said Malema is irrational and aggressive and he is speaking only about the right wing supremacists that are aggressively racist towards Black folk in South Africa but painting all whites with the same brush. Instead of seeing his utterances as pro-equality, they said his discourse is “anti-white” and claimed he was being unfair to them.

Except he is not. Malema’s forthright challenge to white people about personal lateral and systemic racism is the truth that resonates with those on the receiving end of it.

This should not be overlooked by white South Africans.

Instead it should be seen as an opportunity by us to examine how racism and whiteness are intertwined and how this has thwarted authentic transformation and egalitarianism in South Africa."

http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/malema-whites-south-africa-join-struggle/