Copyright Atlanta Black Star
President Donald Trump is boycotting the G20 Summit hosted by South Africa, accusing the Black-majority rule nation of committing “white genocide.” But several white South Africans are calling Trump out to be a liar, referring to his allegations in an open letter as “misleading” and “dangerous.” “We reject the narrative that casts Afrikaners as victims of racial persecution in post-apartheid South Africa,” stated the open letter signed by 40 Afrikaners, including journalists, professors, religious leaders and business owners, who are the white descendants of the mostly Dutch settlers who arrived in the 1650s and established the apartheid system in 1948 before it was abolished in 1994. “We are not pawns in America’s culture wars. We are South Africans, part of a diverse, evolving nation still grappling with its past and striving toward a more just future.” Also rejecting Trump’s allegations as lies is the African National Congress, the majority-Black political party that has governed South Africa since 1994 after apartheid was abolished. “This is a blatant lie. There is no racial discrimination happening in South Africa,” said ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula. “South Africa’s laws seek to redress imbalances created by apartheid, which was declared by the UN as a crime against humanity, particularly against Black people. We don’t take kindly to imperialist flirtations.” ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said, “The ANC will not allow such divisive and regressive ideology to define Africa’s image or dictate its future.” “We will not be bullied, defined, or distracted by imperial nostalgia masquerading as concern.” Why Does the G20 Summit Matter? The G20 (Group of 20) was established in 1999 to address major issues related to the global economy. Since 2008, several countries have hosted the summit, including the United States, as well as countries in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. But this was the first year it was going to be hosted by an African nation, a gathering set to take place in Johannesburg on Nov. 22 and Nov. 23. And Trump evidently did not like that. The boycott also led to Vice President JD Vance canceling a trip to Kenya following the summit, where the plan was to discuss a trade deal between the two countries. “It is a total disgrace that the G20 will be held in South Africa,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social on Friday. “Afrikaners (people who are descended from Dutch settlers, and also French and German immigrants) are being killed and slaughtered, and their land and farms are being illegally confiscated.” “No US government official will attend as long as these human rights abuses continue.” However, the summit will proceed despite Trump’s claims. His actions have led to backlash online. “He doesn’t want Blacks to be hosts,” one X user wrote. “You will die a racist and life still goes on. G20 Summit in South Africa overshadowed by Trump’s boycott claims.” Also calling Trump out to be a liar was poet Allan Kolski Horwitz, a white member of the organization South African Jews for a Free Palestine, who called Trump a “white supremacist” who supports apartheid, accusing the president of funding genocide in Gaza while falsely accusing South Africa of committing genocide.
