Contestations of visibility - a critique of democratic violence

Abstract

Analysing the contestation that was inaugurated by the #RhodesMustFall movement, I think through the ways in which it – this contestation – signalled an attempt at reclaiming Black ontology in the Historically White University (HWU). Tracing the uses of what has been defined as democratic violence, I showcase how this response is misplaced owing to the neglect that has characterised the Black Archive in the University. In simple terms, my argument makes a case for the uses of alternative responses as opposed to democratic violence. This is rooted in a desire to see Black ontology treated with the deference deserving of this category of being, in a space that has been historically defined by the denigration of Blackness, i.e. the HWU. I begin by defining democratic violence for the purposes of setting-up my critique of this response. In the second move, I showcase how an alternative can be sourced from the Black Archive, which has been neglected. I conclude the article by highlighting how a Fanonian conception of violence is misplaced in our context.