Pupils from more than 20 of Cape Town’s most elite schools have taken to social media to expose the alleged racism and micro-aggressions they have experienced on a daily basis while at school. The confessions flooded social media after the matric class of Bishops Diocesan School in Rondebosch staged a protest demanding an end to both racism and homophobia at the school.
The protest was staged on Friday, June 5, with students flying a rainbow Pride flag alongside a #BlackLivesMatter flag.
Schools and other institutions in South Africa have decided to take a stand against racism in the country, as well as stand in solidarity of those protesting for the #BlackLivesMatter movement in the United States of America.
The class also reportedly wrote a memorandum with 20 demands for transformation at the prestigious school. It also included approximately 15 pages of personal testimonies from pupils both past and present on the acts of racism and homophobia they have experienced while at the school.
Bishops Matric Class of 2020: pic.twitter.com/b3GK61lNVy
— Jamie Battersby (@Jamie_Battersby) June 5, 2020
“Once inside our gates, discrimination runs rampant. It is perpetrated by the boys, staff and parents, with the whispers of inequity echoing through the corridors and classrooms,” the memorandum read. “While many choose to remain blissfully ignorant of this reality, the damage it has wreaked on the psyches of those subject to its wrath, is inexplicable. It is a stain.”
An Instagram page called @yousilenceweamplify has given those who have such accounts a platform to inform the public of what they racism and micro-aggressions they experienced or are still experiencing at schools.
Here are some accounts from the page:
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have also announced that it will be having a National Day of Action in solidarity of the #BlackLivesMatter movement. Since the tragic murder of George Floyd by Minneapollis police officer Derek Chauvin, South Africans have also been more actively engaging in conversations surrounding racism and police brutality.
The EFF also believe that South Africans should stand together in solidarity for those that have allegedly been murdered by the country’s police and armed forces such as the South African National Defense Force (SANDF).
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Picture: Pixabay