Ignoring race does not make race-based disparities disappear. It is this exact sentiment that brings us to the atrocious decision by US President Donald Trump to cut off aid to SA, putting 15,000 jobs on the line and millions of people — black people mainly — at risk of treatment interruptions.
It’s a decision so poorly informed that one would think it was concocted in a vacuum sealed off from reality and historical consciousness. Except it is not. Trump is not misinformed. His decision on Friday, a day after President Cyril Ramaphosa fired a veiled shot at him stating SA would not be bullied, was a calculated act of historical revisionism that ignores the legacy of apartheid and the profound racial disparities it created.
Let’s outline the context. The 2017 land audit paints a harrowing picture: white South Africans, who make up a mere 8% of the population, control a staggering 72% of the country’s freehold farmland. Contrast that with black South Africans, who constitute 80% of the population yet own a pitiful 4% of the land.
That’s just land. The disparities extend to wealth, education, healthcare and overall opportunities, all of which remain skewed heavily in favour of the historically privileged white minority. All of that is a direct inheritance from the racist apartheid regime — a legacy of theft, disenfranchisement and brutality, sometimes meted out with sadistic relish, that embedded profound inequality.
Trump’s decision, framed under the misleading guise of protecting the human rights of supposedly under-siege white Afrikaners, is a grotesque farce. It’s an appalling attempt to halt the noble efforts aimed at responsibly addressing these historical injustices. This is not a fight against racial discrimination. It is a fight for perpetuating the privileges a small, historically advantaged group continues to enjoy at the expense of the black majority.
That Trump, and the country he leads, will prioritise white interests every chance they get is a settled debate. Still, it remains painful to watch these hierarchies of compassion at work. As American author and activist Ta-Nehisi Coates wisely observed, racism creates "broad sympathy for some and broader scepticism for others".
Trump’s decision to cut aid to SA is a prime example of this hierarchy by prioritising the supposed plight of white Afrikaners while ignoring the suffering his action would bring to HIV and TB patients, much less the profound broader suffering of black South Africans courtesy of past racist policies.
Trump’s broadside against SA has struck a chord with supporters of a broader philosophical principle rooted in a colour-blind approach to human rights — the belief that treating everyone equally, without regard to race, is the best way to achieve fairness and justice. And that is not necessarily a bad idea.
Wilful blindness
Even so, advocating for colour-blind policy, his administration and its biggest cheerleaders, such as Elon Musk, choose to ignore the glaringly painful reality of racial disparities. It’s not colour-blindness. It is wilful blindness. In fact, this principle aligns closely with his administration’s ideology of reducing what it perceives as systemic biases under diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Businesses, government departments and nonprofit organisations worldwide set up these DEI initiatives, explicitly reckoning with their past involvement in racial discrimination. This demonstrates their historical awareness and recognition that race has always played a big role and continues to do so in society. Sadly, a growing number of companies have scaled back or collapsed DEI initiatives in recent years, influenced by political and social pressures.
Some of the biggest names on Wall Street, including Walmart, Facebook owner Meta, Google and Accenture, have either rescinded diversity goals, curtained diversity efforts or set sunset dates for representation goals and career development programmes for specific demographic groups. They are reviving the idea that all individuals, regardless of their racial or ethnic background, must be evaluated based on their abilities and achievements. Translation: they are turning a blind eye to the historical truth that black people, in particular suffered centuries of state-sanctioned marginalisation.
With the right balance we can demonstrate that fairness and effectiveness are not mutually exclusive but rather partners in building a just society.
That is not to say the ANC has not squandered the opportunity, enshrined in the constitution, to craft and push through race-conscious policies designed to address historical injustices and promote racial equality. The party has a knack for prioritising racial representation over actual competence — that is, cadre deployment — leading to inefficiency, mismanagement and corruption. The result is that public services are in shambles and ordinary South Africans are struggling more than ever.
Addressing historical injustices and promoting racial equality is crucial, but the ANC’s apparent allergy to merit isn’t helping anyone. A dash of competence, alongside racial representation, will go a long way in creating a government that actually serves its people, and teach the likes of Trump that true fairness requires an understanding of the unique challenges faced by different communities.
Maybe then we can focus on real progress rather than playing into the tired narratives that perpetuate division and stagnation. With the right balance we can demonstrate that fairness and effectiveness are not mutually exclusive but rather partners in building a just society.
Trump’s erratic move — an arrogant dismissal of the lived experiences of black South Africans — reminds us of the need for global solidarity in the fight against racial and economic inequality. Cutting off aid to nations striving for equality, dismantling DEI programmes and pretending that race-based disparities do not exist is a shameful endorsement of these disparities.
True progress can only be achieved by confronting and addressing these disparities head-on. Anything less is not just inadequate — it is, quite simply, a moral failure. Let’s not be deceived by the charades of those who seek to halt progress and maintain their grip on privilege.
• Motsoeneng is Business Day’s acting editor
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