The black 'middle class' and its white tendencies

There are two groups of people that I have a serious problem with in this country: white people and the black “middle class”. I won’t discuss my problem with white people because that could take forever as there are actually many problems I have with that group of people. What I want to discuss today is the problem I have with black people who are considered the “middle class”. Those blacks who live in nice complexes in areas like Midrand and drive nice cars, the comfortable blacks who are relatively financially comfortable without necessarily having control of means of production.

This is often young black professionals who work in the corporate sector, but some employees of government also fall under this category. They earn relatively handsome salaries that allow them to go on vacation to the coast at least once or twice a year. Yes, those blacks. I want to talk about those blacks.

The debate around the black “middle class” is a very controversial one primarily because it is often misunderstood. When an argument is raised that this group is part of the problem in our country, the assumption becomes that we are against black people enjoying upward mobility. This is not the case. I believe that the privileges that the black “middle class” is enjoying are rightfully ours as black people and so, we should not be apologetic or ashamed about living comfortable lives. We have been subjected to sub-human existence for many centuries and necessarily, we must reclaim our rightful place in the human race as equals to everyone else.

We have been made to believe that black life is inferior and belongs in the townships that were created as habitat for black migrants working in white-owned industries during the era of colonialism in our country. We have been made to accept as normal and natural the unjust reality of blacks being squashed into working-class ghettos while whites and Indians enjoy the life in affluent suburbs of our country. This is not correct. There is nothing to glorify about poverty. There is nothing glamorous about a life in squatter camps and townships that recycle poverty and hopelessness. It would be wrong to say that black people must not acquire a comfortable life for themselves as that would be insinuating that black people must be subjected to perpetual servitude.

In an interview with Debora Patta on 3rd Degree a few years ago, the expelled former president of the ANC Youth League, comrade Julius Malema, was accused by Patta of living a “lavish lifestyle” because of the cars he drove and the clothes he wore. Malema responded correctly when he asked: “Who must wear these things if I can’t wear them? Must I leave them for children of white capitalists, because they are not meant for us?”

Indeed, the land on this country and everything that is in it belongs to black people and there must never come a time when we need to justify our demand for the repossession of that which is ours, including those nice complexes in Midrand. It is a success story when a black person is able to break free from the brutal chains of systematic oppression that tie those in the townships. It is a story that must continue to find expression.

That said, the problem with the black “middle class” is that in its majority, it exists for itself and whatever wealth it creates for itself without recognising the need to plough back to the townships where the success story began. Once in Midrand, most of these “black diamonds” suddenly develop amnesia and forget completely about the other blacks who are struggling to make ends meet; the blacks that were once neighbours and even friends. It becomes normal to frequent restaurants and clubs in Sandton and surrounding areas, having breakfast at Mugg & Bean and supper at Rhapsody’s, without a care in the world about the former neighbour in Alexandra or Meadowlands.

Instead of buying monthly groceries for a struggling family in the township where one comes from, the black “middle class” would much rather blow R2000 on a night out at Melrose Arch. And instead of helping a child in the township to register at an institution of higher learning, the black “middle class” would rather buy an iPad and Nintendo Wii.

But what is perhaps most disturbing for me is how coming into relative wealth changes even the thinking of the black “middle class”. People who could hold a decent conversation in a native language move to Midrand and suddenly forget their vernacular vocabulary. The accents change along with the names. Palesa becomes Pah-lee-sah and Nkululeko becomes N’coo-loo-leh-cor. People claim to be allergic to food that we eat all the time in the townships. The smell of mala mogodu makes a person violently ill when that same person used to be the chief organiser of “mogodu Mondays”. And of course, when a person moves to Midrand, they are suddenly afraid to drive in the township at 19h00 because “it is so dangerous”, despite having lived there for decades and never once being robbed even when walking home from a taxi coming from Bree or Noord. Such white tendencies!

The black “middle class” needs to start taking an active role in the development of black townships and communities. I understand that actually, most of these people who act big by treating township folk with contempt are in fact exploited by white bosses in the corporate sector, where they are treated like small boys and girls, so they don’t actually have a lot of money as serious money is still in white hands. But some contribution to the township, taking that one poor and hungry child to school, would not be such a bad idea. After all, most of you were that child in the not-so-distant past …