South Africa Launches Campaign to Fight Racism and Police Brutality

South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has recently launched a campaign which it says is meant to take a stand against police brutality and racism in South Africa, EWN reports. Dubbed the "Black Friday" campaign and supported by allies such as the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the move is also intended to be a show of solidarity for the Black Lives Matter protests in America and other parts of the world.

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According to Jessie Duarte, the ANC's Deputy Secretary-General, "Racism in South Africa is alive, it's something we need to campaign against and internalise in the psyche of our nation. It is something we are struggling with." Duarte also adds that, "It will start our own Black Friday whenceforth we are called up on to wear black on Friday for the next three weeks."

In a virtual press briefing, COSATU's General-Secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, echoed Duarte's comments saying, "The anti-racism campaign to be launched tomorrow will also highlight the racism in our own country and against security force brutality." Ntshalintshali went on to say, "It shows solidarity with the victims, that they are not alone. That together we stand. It also sends a message to the perpetrators that there are many people outside who say your actions are not warranted."

It is not yet clear what the campaign will entail aside from wearing black every Friday. In light of the deaths of several Black South Africans at the hands of the police, concrete objectives and decisive action are expected of the ruling party lest systemic racism divide the nation and its glaring inequality even further.

Earlier this week, South Africans on social media expressed their anger at the continued killings of Black people at the hands of an anti-Black police establishment during the country's ongoing national lockdown.