Students and employees at the University of Cape Town are trying to “disrupt” whiteness.

Flyers allegedly placed around campus encourage individuals to check out the “Disputing Whiteness” movement with statements such as, “Whiteness@UCT means labelling [sic] an introduction to Western philosophy as ‘Intro to Philosophy” and “Whiteness devalues an delegitimizes black voices. ‘#allivesmatter’ [sic].”

The Facebook page for “Disrupting Whiteness: UCT” describes the organization as a “collective of staff and students at University of Cape Town who are engaged in racial justice work and who wish to see meaningful transformation in the university community and beyond.”

“Our approach is thus one which recognizes that it is not the sole obligation of black people to resist white supremacy, nor is it the responsibility of black people to educate white people on racial oppression,” the Facebook page reads.

“This is not about white students educating people on black struggles or co-opting these struggles. This is about white students sharing understandings with other white students about their role in these oppressions; and seeking to provide white allyship against these oppressions where appropriate.”

The Facebook page shares various images explaining what “whiteness” means and instructing people to “#DisruptWhiteness”:



(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

The grievances particular to the University of Cape Town include being upset over not being able to major in African studies and having “Intro to Philosophy” classes that emphasize Western thinkers:

(Image source: Facebook)

(Image source: Facebook)

“Disrupting Whiteness” has held events such as, “Where is the ‘White’ in White Feminism?” “Is UCT Racist? Do All Whites Have Privilege?” and a screening of the movie, “White Like Me.”

Demographic information available on the University of Cape Town website for 2013 shows that among the 26,116 students, 8,434 are South African whites, 6,199 are South African “African,” 3,573 are South African “colored,” 1,714 are South African Indian, 4,708 are international students and 1,488 are categorized as “other.”

The University of Cape Town is currently fostering a demographic “transformation,” which is described as a “necessary as a corrective action in respect of past injustices.”

Under the transformation policies, the school is trying to have “the full diversity of South Africa represented at UCT, weighted towards the disadvantaged communities of the Western Cape” and “a significant number of students and staff from other African countries and further afield.”

“With regard to our student equity profile, good progress has been made at the undergraduate level, but the profile of postgraduate enrolments and several specific undergraduate programmes remains predominantly white,” the University of Cape Town writes. “We will aspire to have a first-year intake, which would be an average of national and Western Cape demographic profiles of university-eligible school leavers.”

In 2014, the vice-chancellor of the University of Cape Town, Max Price, announced the university would be adopting a new admissions policy that would “incorporate race as one of several factors to be considered in assessing an applicant's historic disadvantage.”