South African Musician Danny K's Tweet Said Nothing New About Race

Twitter is still ablaze after singer Danny K made a plea to fellow White South Africans to acknowledge their white privilege and the marginalization of Black people in the country. There is nothing new about that statement (even if it's coming from a white person). And yet, it's sparked considerable debate.

Black people all over the world have been talking about white privilege and their own marginalization for time immemorial. Black South Africans are no different. Issues of white privilege and the calling out of racism, both overt and nuanced, are again, conversations that have been (and are still being) had, tirelessly. Liberal and progressive White people have also hopped on board as allies and said the exact same thing, case in point, Danny K.

The responses he has received from none other than White South Africans have been disappointing but quite on brand if we're being honest. The conversation has now been deviated from the core and central issue and White South Africans have instead chosen to ask the singer why he has ''singled out one race'' and hasn't spoken about other race-related matters that occurred in the past. Others have accused him of being a part of ''the latest craze of white people calling out other white people''.

Another disappointing but unsurprising response was from the former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, Helen Zille. A member of a party who is often accused of promoting racial segregation and who has personally endorsed colonialism, literally all Zille took from Danny K's tweet were the spelling errors. Zille has received backlash for her comment from many including scathing remarks from the controversial musician, Ntsiki Mazwai.

As the debate continues on social media, what it is bringing to the fore is the reality of where South Africa currently stands in its pursuit of non-racialism. By the looks of it, it's still pretty far off.