South African students in blackface receive backlash, punishment

Two South African students posted a photo of themselves in blackface, prompting a school disciplinary response and reigniting a social media conversation on racism in South Africa. The photo of two women from the University of Pretoria dressed as black domestic workers was deleted from Facebook, but was swiftly disseminated on Twitter. A university official said that the students would be disciplined for harming the school’s reputation.

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South Africans shared their reactions to the photo using the hashtags #blackface and #studentracism. Many expressed frustration that such practices still occur.