Minister of Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa said South Africa still had a long way to go to be a non-racial society.

"For more than 300 years the country has been in racism, where did they all vanish to? They are there," he said at the launch of an anti-racism song at the OR Tambo Conference Centre, East of Johannesburg, on Wednesday.

The song, composed and performed by poet, Mzwakhe Mbuli, has been released in the wake of a number of racial outbursts and incidents in recent months.

Mthethwa encouraged artists to continue to compose songs taking a stand against racism, as well as to address the issue of inferiority complexes among black South Africans which has is evident in some African countries.

"South Africa today is number two of the countries on the continent after Nigeria where this business of skin whitening is being used. It is an inferiority complex," he said.

He earlier mentioned that racism was a subject that continued to bother established countries in the world as well and that South Africa was not just dealing with prejudice, but an institutionalised element.

Mthethwa referred to the incident of KwaZulu-Natal estate agent, Penny Sparrow, who in December labelled black people monkeys in an online post, as well as schools that have excluded black children, and the recent case of another real estate agent, Vicky Momberg, who could be seen in a recent video saying she did not want to be assisted by black police officers after she was the victim of a smash-and-and-grab incident in Johannesburg and proceeded to refer to black people in a derogatory and threatening manner.

"It is a harmful ideology," Mthethwa said.

He added that the society should be mobilised in order to strengthen transformation.

"We are a proud people and we can never cringe before anybody else. If racism doesn’t make you feel a certain way, you need a doctor."

Mthethwa added that racism had to be criminalised and communities had to discuss the issue and de-educate racist as well as educate them about the future South Africans wanted.

"We defeated apartheid, so we will defeat racism," he said.