As we discussed with a facilitator at the Slave Lodge Museum, slavery has not disappeared; it has been replaced with wage labor and rent control. So we wind up with underemployment and structural unemployment of poor and working-class blacks who are no longer needed by the system , the use of migrant groups and the global south for cheap labor.
Class oppression becomes tied up with racial oppression across most minority groups. Poor whites, who have historically resisted organization under unions out of refusal to work with black workers, also get the short end of the stick due to racism.
At the root of this nation is genocide and slavery — a country founded on these inhumanities can never be just, be free, but we can strive to rectify these injustices. We have to start and keep fighting for a better world, and that means an unwavering commitment to fighting and resisting class exploitation, racism and all other forms of oppression. Though they were disempowered, Black South Africans protested their treatment within apartheid.
Black workers boycotted white businesses, went on strike, and staged non-violent protests. A crowd at a Johannesburg protest meeting which defied a ban on such gatherings, circa These acts of defiance were met with police and state brutality. Protesters were beaten and tried en masse in unfair legal proceedings. In , South African police killed 69 peaceful protesters in Sharpeville, sparking nationwide dissent and a wave of strikes.
A subgroup of protesters who were tired of what they saw as ineffective nonviolent protests began to embrace armed resistance instead. He was arrested for treason in , and was sentenced to life in prison for charges of sabotage in The prisoners were arrested for protesting against the segregationist pass laws. In response to the protests, the government declared a state of emergency. This tactic cleared the way for even more apartheid laws to be put in place.
Despite the state of emergency, Black groups continued to organize and protest. But a crackdown on many movement leaders forced them into exile abroad. Despite the state of emergency, black protestors tried to march to Cape Town to demand the release of black leaders, arrested after the Sharpeville massacre the month before. Anti-apartheid protests continued as life for Black South Africans became more and more dire under apartheid. On June 16, , up to 10, Black schoolchildren, inspired by new tenets of Black consciousness, marched to protest a new law that forced them to learn Afrikaans in schools.
Steve Biko , anti-apartheid activist and co-founder of the South African Students' Organization, spearheaded the movement and was arrested multiple times for his activism before dying from injuries sustained while in police custody on September 12, During the s, resistance became even more fierce. Peaceful and violent protests finally began to spark international attention. But he inspired his followers to continue resisting and conducted secret negotiations to end apartheid.
By then, the country faced sanctions and economic ramifications as international businesses, celebrities, and other governments pressured the government to end discrimination. As the economy faltered, the government was locked in a stalemate with anti-apartheid activists.
But when South African president P. His death has sparked anti-racism protests and calls for police reform across the United States and around the world, including in Africa. The continent voiced its anger in a statement released on May 29 through its regional bloc, the African Union, describing Floyd's death as an act of "murder.
The chair of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, condemned Floyd's killing and urged "authorities in the United States of America to intensify their efforts to ensure the total elimination of all forms of discrimination based on race or ethnic origin. Human Rights Council for an "urgent debate" on "racially inspired human rights violations, police brutality against people of African descent and the violence against the peaceful protests that call for these injustices to stop.
Although the letter called for a debate on racism around the world, Ambassador Dieudonne Desire Sougouri highlighted the situation in the United States, saying that Floyd's death "is unfortunately not an isolated incident, with many previous cases of unarmed persons of African descent suffering the same fate due to unchecked police brutality. Experts said the widespread outrage over Floyd's death and the ensuing global support for the Black Lives Matter movement give reason for cautious hope, but substantial and meaningful change in the United States would be difficult.
The same is true for post-apartheid South Africa. It's unlikely that we can ever come out of it the same. Still, Modiri added that "we should always be hopeful when communities of people refuse to accept the way things are. Experts noted how the widening rift between liberals and conservatives in the United States has made legislative reform a challenge.
When the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year and countries around the world began closing borders, Rashad McCrorey found himself at a crossroads.
The year-old New York City native was in Ghana for a trip organized by his tourism company, Africa Cross Culture , which specializes in bringing Black Americans and the African diaspora to visit the continent. He could either return home immediately or stay in Ghana indefinitely. He chose the latter. Ghana, a former slave trading hub, has long advocated for Africans and those of African descent abroad to return to the continent.
Many Black Americans, such as civil rights leader W. Du Bois, settled there in the s. Last year, the West African nation launched the "Year of Return, Ghana " on the th anniversary of slaves being brought to the United States with the goal of encouraging visits. Reports estimate thousands of African Americans live in Ghana's capital of Accra, some looking to escape racism and other strife in the United States.
As civil unrest unfolds back home in America, McCrorey said he's confident he made the right decision to stay. In , McCrorey was among thousands of protesters who took to the streets following the death of Eric Garner, an unarmed year-old Black man who famously shouted "I can't breathe" as a white officer was filmed putting him in a chokehold while arresting him in the New York City borough of Staten Island.
Black Lives Matter demonstrations soon spread across the country and the globe. Although the officer involved in Garner's death is no longer patrolling the streets, McCrorey expressed frustration that there has been no real reform or structural change. McCrorey visited Africa for the first time a few weeks after Garner's death. He fell in love with the country of Ghana and its people, and the trip inspired him to start his back-to-Africa travel company.
McCrorey described the experience of returning to the continent as an African American as healing and revitalizing, even if it's only for a visit. He said it's empowering to be surrounded by people who look like you in all aspects of society, from street vendors and shop owners to doctors, lawyers and politicians.
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