By Melissa Nefdt Recently there has been a story in the news of what initially appeared to be yet another case of blackface at a traditionally white institution. “Blackface at Stellenbosch University”, headlines said, above a picture of two young women clearly sporting paint all over their faces, necks and arms, smiling broadly into the […]
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Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Enslaved by freedom
By Danai Nhando Bob Marley’s famous lyrics in Redemption Song have been a silent anthem in my head of late. “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.” The more I ponder on the state of my beloved continent, the more I realise how ironic it is that he sung this […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Racism, we have to deal with it every day
By Siphumelele Zondi I was recently tagged in a tweet asking how long black people will complain about racism and blame everything on it. Whenever I engage a group of white people about racism, whether in the work place or social settings, there will always be those that would say racism is over and we […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
The ductile edges of racism
By Thabo Seseane There is a tide, to borrow a phrase, in the decibel level of recriminations about racism in this country. And it is usually triggered by unexpected provocative utterances or deeds by private white people. For a time this jars us all into the reality of this land and its society namely, that […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
A reply to Saunderson-Meyer’s ‘Zuma does semantic yoga’ blog
By Bongani Majola William Saunderson-Meyer has written a shockingly condescending Thought Leader piece with racist undertones entitled “The intellectually supple Mr Zuma does some semantic yoga”. Saunderson-Meyer claims that President Jacob Zuma’s speeches are illogical and do not make sense. In a shocking feat of cultural arrogance he suggests that President Zuma’s speeches reflect a […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, News/Politics
On the streets of Cologne
By Gaia Manco Paris 2005 Evening, I’m walking home with my roommate, we live in the 10th arrondissement: A man follows us, makes vulgar advances, we walk away, we ignore him. He doesn’t stop, we are afraid, he keeps on following us until we get to a busier avenue. 2008 Bastille food market, grocery shopping […]
Posted inGeneral
Yes, the beaches were packed but that was part of the joy
By Jerome September Going to the beach over the festive period was always something I looked forward to as a child. It was the highlight of a year that was often marked by great struggle. At the beach we could lose ourselves, we could play and stand in awe of the big dam with strong […]
Posted inEquality
I am white and privileged. Now what?
By Tamsyn Woolley I recently blogged about why white people struggle to “get” white privilege. But what if, as a white person, you do manage to “get” it? What then? As far away as I am from understanding all the nuances of what makes me privileged, this morning underpinned just how truly privileged I am. […]
Posted inEnvironment, News/Politics
Nene, nukes and Zuma’s timing
By Alex Lenferna Many have been confounded by the recent actions of our president: sacking Nhlanhla Nene from the post of finance minister, giving a weekend-long appointment to the relatively unknown David van Rooyen, and then kicking out Van Rooyen and finally rehiring Pravin Gordhan as finance minister. While much ink has been spilled trying […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Paris attacks: ‘My entire body was trembling’
By Marianne Camerer The Paris police said stay put where you are, don’t go out unless absolutely necessary. The streets were starting to empty. My hotel was about a 20-minute walk away from the Odeon restaurant where my Parisian friend, Pierre, and I were having supper. Should we take a back street to my hotel, […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
The rainbow nation needs a paint job
By Franklyn Odhiambo Theorists say race is a representation of social differences in a code that defends interests and conflicts by referring to apparent physiological characteristics and the treatment of fixities from these references as social facts and thus empirical truths. They say too that racism and a race project occur when a group has […]
Posted inEnvironment, Equality
South African women should fight for 100% renewable energy
By Yvette Abrahams South African women should be fighting for a 100% renewable energy future for our country. A completely renewable energy future will be good for everyone, but it could be particularly good for women. At the recent South African International Renewable Energy Conference in Cape Town, it was striking that one of the […]