On April 7, 2017, thousands of South Africans took part in the nationwide #ZumaMustFall protests, and for the first time in years, our country united as a rainbow nation to show our frustration and dissatisfaction.
What took many people’s attention was the stark contrast in this march and last year’s #FeesMustFall protest. During #FeesMustFall, many students protested against an increase in University fees. This increase meant that some students (mostly students of colour) would not be able to afford their tertiary education. These protests spread nationwide and led to boycotts and lock downs of a number of universities, including the University of Witwatersrand, the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town.
Soon enough, the protests grew violent and disrupted the education system (exams were set back, classes were cancelled, buildings were damaged etc). This was almost immediately met with backlash, as people argued that the protestors should be going to class rather than protesting for their right to education. Some white students even protested against the protests with the slogan TakeWitsBack, because the marches disrupted their lesson time.
During #ZumaMustFall, the country took to the streets to march against President Jacob Zuma, who is well known for openly disregarding the constitution and the laws of the country, to step down. The marches were sparked by Zuma’s cabinet reshuffle and the sacking of Pravin Gordhan — previous finance minister — which led to the country being downgraded to junk status. This time, the crowd was filled with a substantially higher amount of white people.
Don’t get it twisted, us black people support your “race aside, it’s time for us to unite” marches, but you can’t blame us for wanting a bit of consistency. If you’re going to protest, don’t only protest against the issues you face. If you’re there for #ZumaMustFall, don’t turn a blind eye when we protest against the violence in the Cape flats, or Fees/Rhodes Must Fall, or school infrastructure issues in Gugulethu. Stop the double standards and show your support. Not silence, support.
It goes without saying that there are good white people in this country, (yes, we see and thank you) but if you, unfortunately, fall under the category of white people who criticised the FeesMustFall movement because you were not directly affected by what the students were fighting for but are now at the frontline of the ZumaMustFall marches, it’s time for you to do better.
