Cameron says blackface protest was not intended to ‘demean’ black people

Democratic Alliance (DA) Member of Parliament (MP) Ian Cameron insists that he is not a racist and that he only took part in a blackface protest to raise awareness about poor race relations in South Africa.   

Cameron came under fire over the weekend after a video of him taking part in a blackface protest outside the offices of the Department of Higher Education and Training 12 years ago.

The protest aimed to allegedly raise concerns about discriminatory policies that placed white students at a disadvantage.

Is it a storm in a teacup?

Cameron said the uproar over the blackface video was meant to create an “outcry.”

Blackface has been seen as racially offensive in different parts of the world including the United States of America (USA).

 It was widely used in the entertainment industry to mock black people by overemphasizing their facial features and depicting them as backward and hypersexual beings.

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 The practice has been frowned upon in modern times.

According to Cameron, his blackface protest was not like the conventional blackface used in entertainment and the performing arts.

“We are dealing here with what is clearly an attempt to create an outcry over an alleged blackface incident. However, the context makes it clear that this protest is not intended to demean people on the basis of their race, but rather a way of exposing and opposing racial discrimination,” Cameron said.

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Meanwhile, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has criticised Cameron for taking part in the blackface protest. They described him as a “white supremacist.”

“The legacy of blackface is a brutal reminder of the dehumanisation and violence inflicted upon black people. This incident is not isolated but is part of a broader, troubling pattern within the DA,” the EFF said in a statement.

Meanwhile, DA MP Renaldo Gouws was also facing a disciplinary hearing over alleged racist utterances he had made on a video circulating on social media.

The matter had been reported to the Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the Equality Court.