POLOKWANE – Three thousand white crosses were planted on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, September 26, each bearing the name of a person killed in a farm attack in South Africa since 1990.

The installation, organised by Pretoria-based lobby group Lex Libertas in partnership with the New York Young Republican Club, was the culmination of a two-day event that included a conference at the National Press Club and a private screening of a documentary at the White House.

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How the display was set up

Videos of the planting showed volunteers pulling yellow lines taut across the grass to mark out the rows, knocking the crosses into the ground with rubber mallets.

The display was scheduled to stand until 5:00 PM US time on Saturday.

Lex Libertas founder Dr Ernst Roets said the aim was to ensure that victims are not forgotten.

A campaign with local echoes

The Washington display mirrors the Witkruis Monument on the N1 between Mokopane and Polokwane, which has stood on a private hillside for more than two decades.

Pushback from Afrikaner groups

The campaign has not been universally welcomed, even within Afrikaner circles.

Afrikaners for SA (AfSA) issued a sharp statement condemning the display, saying farm victims were being used as political props.

AfSA said research showed farm attacks were driven mainly by robbery and other criminal motives, not a coordinated campaign of racial persecution, though it did not rule out racial hatred in some individual attacks.

The group also pointed to Lex Libertas’ broader political goals, saying the organisation had openly tied the crosses to its push for American support for white self-governance.

Debate unlikely to fade

The crosses have now been removed from the National Mall, but the debate they sparked is unlikely to fade as quickly.