I've noticed recently that many social media rants begin with telling everyone that essentially it is America as a whole that is causing the problem of racism. That America and the United States government have been responsible for terrible things in the past and present. But what people don’t seem to recognize is that racism doesn't only exist in one country.
Racism exists in every country and every city in the world, but people may not be thinking about the world as a whole when they are addressing the tragic events that happen in America. However, there are many events and issues that aren't documented in the media, or don’t seem as big because it is not where we live.
If you open your mind and broaden your horizons, you will see racism in places you never would have imagined. Take South Africa, for example. The majority of South Africa’s citizens are black Africans. However, the country was run by white Africans up until Nelson Mandela’s presidency from 1991 to 1997. They upheld the white minority rule of dominating the country with political, economic and cultural dominance throughout their time in office. And soon the country began apartheid, segregating white Africans from non-white Africans and moving them to racially segregated communities. From 1960 to 1983, the apartheid government moved about 3.5 million black South Africans by force, making it the biggest mass removal of people in history.
The United States and countries all around the world were hearing word about this extreme apartheid as they began pulling out of trade deals and boycotting products from South Africa. The apartheid made people in the country explode, as this sparked a fire. And soon, people were erupting in violence, speaking out, having peaceful protests or protests that turned to violence when the police started arresting participants. Nelson Mandela was arrested during a peaceful protest and was immediately sentenced to a cramped cell in a place off the coast of Cape Town called Robben Island. I, personally, have been to this jail and it is one of the smallest cells that I have ever seen, or even knew existed. I learned that Mandela would work all day crushing rocks into smaller rocks outside of the prison cell with his cellmates. He was treated as a murderer, trapped in solitary confinement most days and living in conditions that were not suitable for even the worst of criminals. He couldn't have visitors, and he could only write one letter every six months.
After 27 years in prison and being discharged from both Robben Island and Pollsmoor Prison, Mandela set out to set things straight with the country by standing up for the rights of any human being. He was banished to imprisonment for the way he looked and the way that he had a voice. Despite all of the obstacles, however, he overcame these struggles and set out to do what he believed was the best for his country.
There are many stories like Mandela’s that show that racism exists in the whole world -- it did not just start in America, and it certainly doesn't just exist in America. It just goes to show that inequality anywhere is still inequality everywhere, and it's a problem we all have to work together to overcome.
