South Africa’s Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa called on all South Africans to hold hands and globalise the struggle against racism.

Speaking at the launch of Anti-Racism Week 2018 in Johannesburg on Tuesday, he said despite progress in confronting the structural legacy of apartheid, racism was deeply entrenched.

Anti-Racism Week, which is observed from March 14 to 21, encourages various sectors of society to do work or engage in anti-racism activities during the week and on an ongoing basis.

The event is hosted by the Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA), which was formed by the Ahmed Kathrada and Nelson Mandela Foundations and includes some 80 other organisations in different provinces.

Mthethwa encouraged South Africans to celebrate the lives of struggle heroes Nelson Mandela, Albertina Sisulu and Robert Sobukwe and encouraged people to draw on lessons as they encountered challenges of racism.

He went on to say that unless the root causes, and not just the manifestation of racism is dealt with, South Africans will not be successful in fighting the scourge.

“We will not rest until the billboards carry the message that says racism stops here. We need to pledge that to ourselves until the practice of hatred is dead. The sun shall never set on such a glorious task,” he professed.

While the anti-racism campaign is initiated by ARNSA, it aims to get communities, sectors such as housing, schools and universities, other government entities as well as corporates to plan and host their own anti-racism activities during the week.

Former Deputy Minister of Finance Mcebisi Jonas said that every act against racism was a building block, and that racism could not be tackled in one week.

“It is important to understand that racial inequality is rooted in the economy,” he said.

He further highlighted that quality public education was necessary to address the serious challenges of dealing with social ills, such as the link between unemployment and the insufficient number of highly skilled people in South Africa.