S Africa backs Black Friday anti-racism program

South Africa's ruling party says it is launching a "Black Friday" campaign in response to the "heinous murder" of George Floyd and "institutionalized racism" in the U.S., at home, in China and "wherever it rears its ugly head." A statement by the African National Congress says President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday evening will address the launch of the campaign that calls on people to wear black on Fridays in solidarity

The campaign is also meant to highlight "deaths by citizens at the hands of security forces" in South Africa, which remains one of the world's most unequal countries a quarter-century after the end of the racist system of apartheid

"The demon of racism remains a blight on the soul of our nation," the ANC statement says.