Today the streets of Cape Town and the virtual streets of social media were populated with those protesting #RacistBanksMustFall.
Today’s protest in the Mother City followed the international news of Black Panther director, Ryan Coogler being mistaken for a bank robber in Atlanta, USA – which spurred a global gaze upon banks and racial profiling despite the two incidents being focused on different sub social issues.
Coogler had attempted to draw money from his own checking account and asked that the money be counted elsewhere so that it would be a discreet matter, according to Variety. This ended up being ‘misinterpreted as theft’ linked to the withdrawal amount requested, and has since been scrutinised as an act of racism.
In light of the #RacistBanksMustFall movement in SA, hundreds of people marched to the Equality Court in Cape Town.
The protest centred around a dispute between the Sekunjalo Group and several local banks that had reportedly frozen the groups’ accounts which include black-owned businesses, including Nedbank, Absa and FNB.
According to Sowetan Live, allegations of impropriety at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) were at the forefront, reports Sowetan Live.
Earlier applications had also been made against the bank by the Sekunjalo, but these were dismissed in the Western Cape High Court as per IOL.
Today, the Equality Court heard the Sekunjalo group’s complaint against Nedbank.
Numerous protestors both online and in the flesh felt that they could relate to what is being categorised as racial profiling by banks. The ANC Youth League also lent their voices to the occasion.
Looking at both Ryan Coogler’s incident and Cape Town’s #RacistBanksMustFall march, banks around the world have the global gaze upon them.
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Picture: Twitter