Mandisi Majavu, SACSIS
Last month the BBC
published an article titled, “Do white people have a future in South Africa?”
Western institutions like the BBC see no problem in commissioning articles like
this due to mainstream whites’ misconception of racism as a zero-sum game.
Research shows that mainstream whites associate a decrease in anti-black racism
with an increase in anti-white racism. The notion of “reverse racism” is rooted
in this misconception.
Proponents of “reverse
racism” often point to affirmative action as evidence of reverse racism.
Interestingly, political
scientist Paul Sniderman’s study in the United States (U.S.) reveals that the
mere mention of the words “affirmative action” provokes racist stereotypes
about blacks in the minds of white Americans. The recent media statement by the
South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), “Affirmative Action is
killing babies and must be scrapped”, ought to be read within this context. In
the press Statement, the SAIRR goes on to argue that “…affirmative action is a
veil behind which to conceal corruption and incompetence…” The racist
stereotype of incompetent blacks is an enduring feature of racism.
Instead of viewing
affirmative action as a policy designed to assist blacks overcome the legacy of
apartheid, mainstream whites regard it as a confirmation of black inferiority.
This is partly why the debate about the change in admission policies of some
universities is presented as something good for blacks. It is argued that a
move away from a reliance on affirmative action to achieve diversity will
reduce racial stereotyping.
To use American
sociologist Nancy DiTomaso’s insight, this argument fails to take into
consideration the fact that in post-apartheid South Africa, it is not overt
racist acts that hinder the social mobility of blacks, but the racial advantage
that whites enjoy through acts of favouritism that whites show each other
through opportunity hoarding.
The Commission for
Employment Equity report 2013 - 2014 shows that more than 53.8% of the white
group was exposed to skills development as opposed to other racial groups.
According to the report, white females are over-represented in non-profit
organisations and in educational institutions, while white males are
over-represented in the private sector, as well as in non-profit organisations
and in educational institutions.
Whites do not have to
subscribe to racist ideologies to benefit from the privileges of being white.
The facts bear this out in post-apartheid South Africa. The economic benefits
enable many whites to achieve a middle-class lifestyle by their mid-twenties.
On the other hand, the economic cost for many blacks is disrupted careers and
unemployment.
The system functions in a
way that allows whites not to see how they might be complicit in the
reproduction of racial inequality. In fact, as the BBC article demonstrates,
mainstream whites are convinced that the country has made significant progress
toward achieving racial equality at the expense of poor whites. The article argues, “semi-skilled white
people have little chance of getting a job when so many black South Africans
are unemployed.”
The reality is that
irrespective of class background, race and class determine the life chances
available to the majority of black South Africans. This means that in addition
to having affirmative action policies in place, class-conscious policies are
urgently needed. Amy Gutman is a political philosopher and co-author of the
book Colour Conscious: The Political Morality of Race. Her analysis of U.S.
society argues that class conscious policies ought to include social programmes
that create enough jobs that pay a living wage, “provide adequate child care for
parents so they can afford to work, secure a real safety net for those who
cannot work, and institute adequate educational programmes for the children of
poor parents.” Without such class policies in place, it is premature to debate
whether or not to abandon policies such as affirmative action.
Instead of doing away
with affirmative action, white South Africans ought to acknowledge the fact
that one of the legacies of apartheid that hinders the economic progress of
many black people in this country is the history of unearned advantage that
whites have over everybody else.
Academics who research
white privilege point out that the advantage that whites enjoy might take the
form of having access to community resources, whites receiving the benefit of
the doubt in many areas of their lives, whites receiving strong recommendation
for jobs, and being part of the socio-economic network that provide one with
valuable “inside” information on how to take tests and present oneself for the
job.
And here’s the rub - white
privilege is not illegal like racial discrimination.
Without affirmative
action whites will not have to fight for or defend white privilege to enjoy its
benefits. The trade union, Solidarity, understands this truism perfectly well.
At the beginning of this year the union announced that it was starting a legal
campaign to fight 34 more affirmative action court cases against the government
and state-owned companies. What the union’s legal campaign also reveals is that
whites have enough social resources to challenge, interrupt and even reverse
policies like affirmative action.
