Racism

Abstract

The deeply ingrained racism of whites in South Africa and their determination to impose their will upon the black majority lie at the root of the country’s current problems. The injustices of the apartheid system have finally been admitted by the whites and a new political era has been inaugurated. Unfortunately, political change on its own is not enough; emotionally far too many whites, even liberal whites, still regard themselves as superior to blacks and far too many of them only accepted the changes that came in 1994 because they could see no alternative rather than because they actively believed in a non racial society. Over the coming years, as South Africa grapples with the immense range of problems it faces, the attitude of whites to the new political structures which, inevitably, must lessen their influence, wealth and power will remain a crucial element in the overall pace of change. In the four years following the April 1994 elections there was abundant evidence, despite the euphoria about a Rainbow Society, that white racism was both strong and active. What has still to be gauged is whether the outbursts and incidents of racism which regularly occur are no more than an expected backlash that the circumstances of the change over were bound to produce or whether they represent a more sinister long-term determination on the part of a significant and disgruntled minority to fight and disrupt the new system.