Just one day after DA’s Renaldo Gouws was suspended from the party for an old clip of a racist rant, fellow MP Ian Cameron has come under fire over videos of him in blackface.
The clips stem from a 2012 AfriForum Youth protest over the University of Pretoria’s alleged exclusion of applicants based on their race.
Like Gouws, Cameron has been vocal on his social media commentary on hot topics like race, crime, and farm murders.
IAN CAMERON IS THE LATEST DA MP IN RACIAL SCANDAL
On Friday, 21 June, old clips and images of Ian Cameron in blackface made their way onto the X app.
The imagery was sourced from an AfriForum Youth protest outside the office of Blade Nzimande, the Minister of Higher Education and Training.
The protest was organised after the University of Pretoria was accused of “racial targeting”. This, after they allegedly refused white students entry in favour of black students, particularly in the veterinary science programme.
Footage of the AfriForum Youth and parents painting their faces black at protests was aired on several broadcasters. Included was Ian Cameron, the now DA MP.
The young activist told EWN at the time: [The white students] were rejected after applying. Seventy three students…because of the fact that they are white. They told us that the department won’t let them study because there need to be more black students studying veterinary science.
The group delivered a memorandum to the department.
Higher Education director-general Gwebs Qonde told the Pretoria News of the admissions policy: “We need to educate people about the sharing of resources and addressing certain inequalities created by our past.
“The admission policy at the institute is based on the core principle of our constitution, which aims to create equal opportunities for everybody.
The South African contacted DA Director of Communications Richard Newton for comment on the videos of Ian Cameron in blackface. None was received at the time of publishing.
WHAT IS BLACKFACE AND WHY IS IT OFFENSIVE?
According to The Conversation, Blackface is the practice of non-Black people darkening their skin in deliberate attempts to impersonate Black people.
Rooted in racism, the practice was made popularly by white minstrels who appropriated and exaggerated black culture in an attempt to profit from it.
In South Africa, comedian and actor Leon Schuster claimed he had stopped his practice of blackface when he realised that it was “racist.”
Known for his “candid camera” pranks, Schuster often dressed up as different characters and races in his popular movies.
He told the Sunday Times: “On Twitter [now X], they said stay away from the blackface. It’s not on. It was black people talking to me, and you’ve got to listen. I can’t do it because I’ll be heavily criticised.
“In the olden days, it troubled nobody. But I won’t go blackface now. I can’t do it. There’s not one actor in the world that will. It’s just racist.”
