The death of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests around the world have reverberated in some of SA’s elite schools, with black pupils and alumni speaking out against the racism they experienced, says a Sunday Times report.

About 5 000 people signed a petition against racism at Herschel Girls School in Cape Town, and matrics at the city’s Bishops Diocesan College launched a protest against racism at their institution.

Former Herschel pupil Emmanuelle Tshala, who matriculated in 2015, started the petition to highlight black pupils’ experiences.

‘In light of the murder of George Floyd, I think that there was a general understanding and a general sense that this cannot go on,’ she is quoted as saying.

‘A big reason why I felt compelled to do this is because we cannot wait for a person of colour to die in our schools in Cape Town or in SA for us to realise this is a problem.’

Allegations of racism at the elite schools have triggered the #BlackSolidarityCampaign and the #YouSilenceWeAmplify campaign by pupils and alumni.

Mzimasi Sibeko, the #BlackSolidarityCampaign’s national convener, said Floyd’s death has ‘given many people across the world a voice to highlight the different treatment they experience at white establishments’.

‘Such grievances are endemic in the new dispensation, and it says that just because you are a child of a wealthy black person, you will be immune to unfair racial treatment. This is an opportunity to tackle these issues.’

A former pupil at elite private school, Durban Girls College (DCG), has also spoken out.

Melissa Ngcobo spoke out after the school’s student affairs head sent out an e-mail she said instructs pupils not to post about the Black Lives Matter movement. Ngcobo said that in matric, her classmates ‘became more vocal but issues were swept under the rug’', notes the Sunday Times report.

In a statement, DCG said it had a ‘zero tolerance stance towards racist behaviour’ and ‘the board takes these claims seriously and they will be investigated thoroughly’.

Tshala’s petition says Herschel, seen as one of the best schools in the province, is known for its ‘institutionalised racism’ and ‘lack of inclusivity’.

In a statement, the school expressed ‘sadness that this is the way the students of 2019 and before have felt at school’ and invited them to ‘communicate with us on how to do things better and to be part of this change strategy’.

At Bishops, the matric class of 2020 told outgoing principal Guy Pearson in a statement that racism ‘and greater intolerance has loomed over Bishops since its inception’.

The matric class listed 20 demands, including that the ground and cleaning staff’s children be given access to the same bursaries and funding schemes that are available to teachers’ children.

Pearson confirmed that he received the memorandum and that the matrics staged a peaceful protest on Friday. He said the issues will be dealt with.

Full Sunday Times report (subscription needed)