To debate colonial statues or white privilege in South Africa will not help us to transform society, unless it helps us build the much needed coalitions to do so. Frequent racist incidents and the racial rhetoric in public debates show that our coalitions of trust are floundering. It is not the raw frankness of our […]
racism
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Memory and moving forward: #RhodesMustFall is not a shitty argument
If you do not like something, throw poop at it. This was the thinking of some protestors who called for the removal of the Rhodes statue from the University of Cape Town campus citing that the continued presence of the statue was an ode to the white dominance of the past. The calls for the […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
#RhodesSoWhite and the disappointing lack of unity
On Tuesday, this post appeared concerning race on the Rhodes University SRC Facebook page: The post was presumably inspired by the recent issues surrounding UCT and the statue of Cecil John Rhodes, as well as the calls to change the name of Rhodes University. The post gathered hundreds of comments of those either militantly in […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Goodbye Bantu education, hello…?
As a new mother, I spend a lot of time obsessing over the future, I wonder what my daughter’s speaking voice will sound like, whether she will be stubborn like her mother or kind and generous like her father. I think about what career she will choose and agonise over how best we can prepare […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence
How is one to be gay, black and free?
Simon Nkoli once said “In South Africa, I am oppressed because I am a black man and I am oppressed because I am gay. So when I fight for my freedom I must fight against both oppressions”. This is the dichotomy that many black gay men find themselves in. What comes first, what is more […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Mvoko mugging video: Racial divisions find life in the comment section
Vuyo Mvoko, an SABC contributing editor, was mugged last night. Did you hear about it? Perhaps you’ve seen the viral video that caught the offenders’ faces. It’s everywhere; on all major local news websites. Maybe, upon seeing it, you feel you have a sympathetic message to share, or maybe you’re just outraged at the frequency […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Resilient racism will derail our national transformation project
The Constitution, in its preamble, states that we need to “heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights”. We therefore adopted the theme “a better life for all” as our driving vision to transform our society and eliminate the inequities of the past. […]
Posted inEquality, Gender violence, Lifestyle
Harfield Village: The bold and the befok
I moved to Harfield Village in April last year. For a little village that basically lies between two roads (Imam Haron and Kenilworth Road) this place has a lot of issues. During the time I’ve lived here I’ve witnessed two domestic violence assaults in the street while others walked by. The first, described here, was […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
A New Year’s epistle to whiteness
Dear white people, There is no kind way to put this so gird your loins and swallow hard. All whites are racist. Some may not practice racism and many may be anti-racist. Others may mistakenly believe that we live in a non-racist epoch. Some may be left wing and others may be moderate or right […]
Posted inGeneral
Fanon and the question of ‘white theory’
It is undeniable that Frantz Fanon identifies European, or “white” culture as racist to the core. It is equally undeniable that he affirmed the likelihood of the discourses of knowledge emanating from this culture being equally racist. It stands to reason that a culture, which regards itself as being superior to all others, given its […]
Posted inEquality, General
South Africa, we can do and be better
By Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar It would seem that racism is a divisive topic. It seems to me that the rattling of that word bothers people. It brings out such defensive reactions. It is troubling to see how easy it is to become self-righteous, indignant and defensive. We must guard against this tendency. Let us not […]
Posted inEquality, General
Racism in SA is real and it matters
By Andrew Ihsaan Gasnolar We have seen the distractions all around us. We have been confronted with a great deal of flash but not much substance: from the protection orders urgently brought (and then discharged), to the newsletters from Helen Zille to the battle between a Chester and Ms Zille. However, this sideshow distracts us […]