“If Those Tables Were Turned”: US TikToker Questions White Cross Project on National Mall
- An American TikTok user called out the White Cross Project installation on the US National Mall, comparing it to Palestinian casualties
- The display, organised by South African lobby group Lex Libertas, featured roughly 3,000 crosses representing farm attack victims since 1990
- South Africans in the comments pushed back, with many saying the crosses misrepresented who the victims actually were
- Briefly News reached out to @billie.nelson but received no comment at the time of publication
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Source: TikTok
A TikTok creator from the United States sparked debate after posting a passionate video questioning a large-scale memorial display on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. @billie.nelson shared the clip on 27 September 2026, and it quickly drew reactions from South Africans and Americans alike.
The display, known as the White Cross Project, featured around 3,000 white crosses planted on the National Mall. The Pretoria-based lobby group Lex Libertas, led by Ernst Roets, organised the installation in partnership with the New York Young Republican Club. Events took place on 25 and 26 September 2026, beginning with a conference at the National Press Club before the vigil opened to the public. Organisers said the crosses were meant to draw international attention to violent crime and attacks on farming communities in South Africa since 1990.
American challenges the narrative
Filming from her car, the creator questioned why the same level of public mourning was not extended to other groups. She drew comparisons to Palestinian casualties, arguing that nearly 74,000 grave markers would stretch 1.5 miles from the US Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. She also referenced refugee figures from the Trump administration's second term, stating that 13,243 of the 13,410 refugees admitted were white Africans, with 17,000 more expected.
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"If you get upset about white farmers in South Africa placing crosses on our National Mall, but not be upset with almost 74,000 markers, if those tables were turned..." she asked in the video.
Watch the video that sparked the debate below:
South Africans push back on the crosses
The White Cross Project was not without controversy at home either. South Africa's Ambassador to the US, Roelf Meyer, criticised the framing, noting that farm murders form part of the country's broader violent crime crisis rather than evidence of targeted ethnic persecution. The group Afrikaners for South Africa also condemned the campaign, arguing that victims of violent crime were being used as political props.
Many South Africans in the comments on the TikTok page shared that view.
@Mampho Soulflow SB AA wrote:
"Those crosses are lies, and lies."
@tshonyi shared:
"What they are not telling you is that on those crosses there are also names of black people killed by white farmers on their farms in South Africa, but now they are acting as if all those names are for white farmers."
@user7742337816680 added:
"Come to South Africa and see how happy white people, black people, coloured people, Muslim people and Indian people are. We are a rainbow nation."
@Ally cat noted:
"I'm from South Africa, and I only heard of about 3 or 4 farm murders since 1994. I don't know where they get their information."
@RUSS_KARAOKE DREAMS suggested:
"You should do another video and say that the crosses are for the Palestinians killed in Gaza. See what your responses would be then. It probably wouldn't even be able to be put up."
More on the White Cross Project
- Briefly News recently reported on Afrikaner artists who opened a Washington exhibition as a counterpoint to the White Cross Project, challenging the idea that all Afrikaners share one narrative.
- The 3,000-cross display in Washington sparked backlash from a rival Afrikaner group, which accused organisers of using victims as political props.
- A former Miss World drew criticism from some South Africans after publicly endorsing the Washington White Cross Project and sharing videos of the display.
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Source: Briefly News
