STEVEN FRIEDMAN: DA must decide if its brand of liberalism is about protecting racial privilege or fighting it
If we deny poverty and privilege are caused by race, we cannot change the reality that some enjoy an advantage because of their race
Is being a liberal in this country about keeping black people "in their place" or freedom for all? Both: The answer depends on which liberals are speaking. Tension in the DA over leader Mmusi Maimane’s Freedom Day remarks about white privilege and black poverty, and efforts to promote black leadership in the party, have been portrayed as an argument about whether the official opposition should stay a liberal party. Ironically, this view is shared by Maimane’s DA critics and most of its black opponents. But a look at our history shows that the DA’s conflict is not new — it repeats events half a century ago — and that not all South African liberals are unhappy about aligning with the concerns of most black people. Those who oppose change in the DA say they are liberals who are interested in each person’s merit, not their race. People should be chosen for positions because they are good enough, not because they are black. Poverty and privilege are an economic issue, not a racial proble...
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