Cyril Ramaphosa compares the so-called #BlackLivesMatter protests abroad with the 1976 Soweto Youth Uprising.
“Young people around the world have found a common purpose. They are breaking down statues and symbols of racism, demanding the decolonization of educational curricula and calling for institutions to touch racism and social exclusion, ”the president wrote in his newsletter on the eve of Youth Day in South Africa on Monday.
“While paying tribute to the 1976 generation on this Youth Day, we also pay tribute to the youth of South Africa after apartheid, the worthy heirs of this noble legacy.”
According to Ramaphosa, in 1976, the youth sought to break down the then Bantu education in 1976, while today’s youth strives for national reconciliation and transformation. “In time, it will be said that this year, 2020, was the beginning of a new epoch in the history of humanity,” he writes with reference to the #BlackLivesMatter protests as well as the Covid 19 pandemic.
The president now argues that the pandemic gives the world the opportunity to “recover” from materialism and selfishness among individuals as well as society as a whole.
“We will now look more than ever to the innovative and pioneering spirit of our youth to find solutions to the unemployment crisis,” Ramaphosa said.
