Internationally-renowned musician, Black Coffee, has weighed in on the racial debacle surrounding Clicks and their offensive ad campaign which has sent South Africans into a state of uproar. The DJ didn’t directly speak on the issue, however his most recent tweet indicated at a possible solution which would end the outrage – an apology and forgiveness.
Black Coffee stated, “How do we forgive a generation than never apologized.”, and followed it up with an article which referenced Australia’s apology to the indigenous people. The article spoke up about the inappropriateness of the public towards the aboriginal people of Australia, and saw the government publicly apologises to their citizens. He captioned it with, “History shows us it is possible to ask for forgiveness and work on a way forward.”
Black Coffee’s comments were interpreted as his way of referencing a successful apology and forgiveness exchange, which had helped close the divide between two communities. Fans believed that he was subliminally suggesting that the people in power openly apologise to the victims of social injustices in South Africa, in order for the country to be a united nation.
The tweets sparked an open conversation on social media, with his followers divided by his comments. Some believed that his reference to Apartheid was irrelevant, as many of the perpetrators had grown up in the rainbow nation. A follower stated, “Everything going on in SA and your still stuck at 26 years ago. You didn't forgive nothing, else you wouldn't be talking about it, and it would've been long forgotten.” Bontle Phora followed with, “The moment you realise that forgiveness is about you not the other person. Not forgiving is like drinking poison and happy that the other person will die. Forgiveness is about freeing yourself not the other person. It's about protecting your own peace.”
The conversation garnered major attention on social media, with many continuing to voice their opinions about Black Coffee’s suggestion to end systemic racism.
