Blacks owe success to ANC

There is a strange, black beneficiary of affirmative action (AA) and ongoing political and economic change who refuses to acknowledge the gains and opportunities provided by majority rule, especially ANC policies.

It is always curious, for me, to read or listen to a story of a black person who refuses to acknowledge that, directly or indirectly, they benefited from the advent of a so-called black government (sic).

In fact, these blacks claim to have made it on their own, without any help from AA or political networks and connections.

This is a funny development, indeed.

Blacks need to be confident enough not to be ashamed of being beneficiaries of the government’s political and economical transformational programme.

It has become too common to hear of blacks who wish to distance themselves from the AA programme. They claim that they had no help, whatsoever, from black government.

I think this is not only a blatant lie but too soon for black super-achievers to speak thus.

Of course, there are many highly gifted academics, business people and other successful professionals who have come through the School of Hard Knocks.

These are people who, truly, have made things happen for themselves rather than wait for AA.

But that does not matter because, at the end of the day, structures and process have been in place since the days of the Sullivan Principles in the 1980s to further boost these individual’s efforts because they were black.

What cannot be denied is the existence of countless examples of black men, women and children who have, ironically, used the normal life struggle route to make it in an abnormal, apartheid-created circumstance.

They deserve our highest praise for being examples of hard work, self-discipline and focus. Their lives are a reminder that it does not matter where you come from but where you are going.

But, surely, this does not mean that they are correct to think or believe that AA or government policies have done absolutely nothing for them.
There is no doubt that the majority of African people may look up to them as inspirational figures not only because of their excellent achievements but the colour of their skin.

It is nothing that should embarrass or fill one with shame.

We all know cases of outstanding business super-achievers and high-flyers that would have soared to greater stature and heights had they NOT been black.

In fact, there are countless black people whose success has been limited and their dreams shattered simply because they were born black.
Thanks God and the African National Congress that we now have many more examples that have been spared this pain and tragedy by government policies.

We all need to realise that, for now, racism and the politics of identity are factors to be reckoned with in the context of white economic domination.

It is sad that there are some blacks who want to turn attention away from their lived experience of “blackness” owing to “making it”. These blacks claim to have gotten far without any help from political connectedness or even government policies.

Super-achievers should use their stature and height not only to be shining symbols of black achievement but champion the cause of anti-racism in the country.

They should give credit where it’s due and it belongs to the ANC and its policies.

It is self-delusion for any black person, in the private or public sector, to insist that they do not owe their success to the ANC or are NOT “black” in terms of their progress and advancement.

This shows short-sightedness and lack of political insight for we do not yet live in a colour-blind world or ahistorical experience. At present there is plenty of racism for black people to deal with in the media, politics, business or general life.

Perhaps high-minded intellectuals and non-blacks would find it understandable for some blacks to become vocally upset at being labelled black or attributing their success to ANC policies.

But few would dispute the fact that when blacks are awarded a prize, position, opportunity or any other thing, the first fact that every sane person recognises about them is blackness and what ANC policies have done for them.

This does not mean that blackness undermines their merit or takes away their personal glory.

In fact, their black identity is not their own problem as blacks. It was the creation of white racism which regarded them as the “other” and denied their potential and capabilities. This is what the ANC fought against.

I guess blacks need to be wary of this new tendency to underplay their blackness or benefits that result from ANC policies simply because they seek white approval.

It is the lesser of two evils than to curry favour with whites by denying that blacks are beneficiaries of what the ANC has done.

The least we can do to contribute to the ultimate creation of a non-racial society is to acknowledge that, for now, blackness is part of our political and social reality. Let us not wish it away in our eagerness to embrace a yet non-existent colour-blind society.

This is still a racist society that the ANC must transform to become what it ought to be.