The Kathrada foundation has commended South Africans for challenging racism, however it says protest action should not involve vandalism.
Yesterday H&M at Ilanga Mall shut its doors after the EFF in the province allegedly threatened to vandalise the store. The political party states that it will not allow the retail store to do as it pleases. Protests took place at H&M stores in Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo and KwaZulu Natal.
WATCH: EFF members protest outside H&M in Mall of Africa
https://twitter.com/jesslevitt/status/952908414891511808
The foundation also raised that this was not the first time that H&M had come under scrutiny with regards to its response to racial insensitivity. In 2015, the company came under criticism from a social media user for not featuring black models following the opening of their stores in South Africa. The company’s response via Twitter implied that white models were featured to create a ‘positive image’.
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“These two incidents are perhaps indicative of the type of ignorance that continues to prevail around issues related to race, perhaps not only at H&M, but in the broader advertising sector and in society in general,” said the foundation’s Executive Director, Neeshan Balton.
