Friday, June 20, 2008

Chinese In Africa Identifying as Black



In South Africa, Chinese is the New Black: A high court in South Africa ruled on Wednesday that Chinese-South Africans will be reclassified as “black,” a term that includes black Africans, Indians and others who were subject to discrimination under apartheid. As a result of this ruling, ethnically Chinese citizens will be able to benefit from government affirmative action policies aimed at undoing the effects of apartheid.

In 2006, the Chinese Association of South Africa sued the government, claiming that its members were being discriminated against because they were being treated as whites and thus failed to qualify for business contracts and job promotions reserved for victims of apartheid. The association successfully argued that, since Chinese-South Africans had been treated unequally under apartheid, they should be reclassified in order to redress wrongs of the past.
-Sky Canaves, Wall Street Journal




What are your thoughts on the issue?

Personally, I feel underrepresented people across the board have been tokenized, and oppressed as colonized "leadership" has seen fit. Sometimes one group is in favor over another, sometimes its placed lower, all according to the separate and divide stratagem. I don't know that I'm anywhere near being in disagreement with Chinese or Indian South Africans calling themselves Black as they were oppressed by the system of apartheid, labeled as "colored" in the same way along with being forced to live apart from whites and denied educational opportunities and the right to vote; Black being a political term that has symbolizes oppressed peoples, mostly known to be of Motherland origins.

Thanks Raven for the intel

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