A resurfaced news video showing several white South African students wearing Blackface is drawing a lot of attention on the social platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
That video from January 2012 shows students from Afriforum Youth, a group that protests minority rights, staging a demonstration at the Department of Higher Education and Training to dispute the admissions policies of the country’s sole veterinary institute at the University of Pretoria.
Members of the organization accused school officials of unjustly discriminating against and refusing entry to white students while favoring Black students. So, to attempt to make a point, they painted their faces black to try to underscore their claim that they need to be Black to be treated fairly.
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According to news outlet Independent Online, the group alleged at the time that 30 prospective students with numerous accolades and distinctions were not admitted to the school because they weren’t Black.
“Every year, 140 students are admitted to the veterinary science faculty and only 22 white matriculants from the 2011 group may be admitted,” Afriforum Youth Chairman Charl Oberholzer said.
While the university said it was true that only 22 white students would be enrolled in the institute that year, it noted that other white students also would’ve been admitted, but they matriculated before last year. Those students had also already been exposed to tertiary education and would be considered for admission after completing a year’s worth of study in an animal science or biological science degree program.
The policy the group protested against is intended to provide more spaces and educational opportunities to disadvantaged students and those from marginalized parts of the country so they can train as veterinarians.
However, the Afriforum Group perceives that this policy only exercises what they call “racial targeting.”
Many people, including…
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