Race,+Zuma,+journalists+and+strawberry+pie,+Ray+Hartley,+Times+blogs

=Race, Zuma, journalists and strawberry pie =


 * Ray Hartley, (Editor of The Times, Johannesburg), blog, 23 February 2008**

The Forum of Black Journalists held an off-the-record briefing with ANC President Jacob Zuma on Friday amidst criticism because white journalists were excluded from the event.

Event organisers went so far as to physically eject some white journalists from the gathering.

The story has since evolved into questioning Jacob Zuma’s decision to address an exclusive meeting of black journalists.

These are two separate matters. The first issue is a question of whether or not it is acceptable in 2008 South Africa to hold a meeting which excludes people on the basis of race.

The second is about the political wisdom or otherwise of Zuma attending such a meeting.

There can be no question that it is totally unacceptable to hold a meeting on a matter of broad public interest which excludes people on the basis of race.

The suggestion is that the mere presence of a certain race would poison the atmosphere, which amounts to a gross racist generalisation — in this case that all whites are unfit to attend the gathering.

The second matter of Zuma’s attendance is slightly more complex. On the face of it, his presence endorses racial exclusivity.

But Zuma has been willing to talk to journalists of all racists — and has even turned down interview request by certain black journalists.

Zuma has publicly expressed an open reconciliatory and non-racist attitude to social issues and he should be taken at face value on this.

He went so far as to grant an interview to a highly critical “white” reporter from the BBC recently in which he was subjected to the harshest possible questioning.

What is totally unacceptable is that a professional working journalist be prevented from executing their craft because of their race.


 * From: http://blogs.thetimes.co.za/hartley/2008/02/23/race-zuma-journalists-and-strawberry-pie/**

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