Ahmed Kathrada Foundation condemns racist remarks

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation was set up to promote the values, rights and principles enshrined in the Freedom Charter and the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.

Real estate agent Penny Sparrow made headlines after posting a tweet which compared black South Africans to ‘monkeys’.

Not long after, Chris Hart, a global investment strategist of Standard Bank Wealth and Investment, posted a tweet which stated that the victims of apartheid were increasing, along with a sense of entitlement and hatred towards minorities.

Both tweets, along with a few others, have caused an uproar on social media platforms. Due to this, Neeshan Balton, director of Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, released the following statement, condemning the racist remarks.

“The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation strongly condemns the racist comments and views that infer that black people are like barbarians and should not be allowed onto public beaches. This is similar to Taj Hotel asking the Cape Minstrels to remain silent on their parade route because hotel clients would be ‘disturbed’.”

According to Balton, many African families save for months to travel to the seaside on New Year’s Day.

“We must recall the struggle to open our beaches to all during the 80s and cannot pander to the views of people who seek to take us back to separate beaches and other facilities. There will be no going back to that era. Those who continue advocating these conservative, racist views must be challenged and penalised through our equality courts,” said Balton.

“Racism has no place in this country. People who insist on holding onto such crudely racist views should perhaps consider moving to places where their views will be more acceptable.

“Jawitz Properties and Standard Bank must act against the [alleged] racists among their staff or associates or face being associated with their views.

“We call on South Africans to condemn racist sentiments. While the foundation is concerned over social media being used by racists to spew hatred, it is encouraged that ordinary people have used online platforms to challenge these views and promote non-racialism.

“We also call on South Africans to join the Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA) in marking an anti-racism week which takes place from 14 to 21 March. During the week, we must unite, speak out and act against all forms of racism throughout the country.”

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“Black people are monkeys” post goes viral