This is a hard but necessary passage to share from Steve Biko's 'I Write What I Like' which you should totally get hold of and read in its entirety. Hard, because it is true. Not true that the black man is inferior, but that the idea of the black man being inferior has been so deeply entrenched in so many of us, that it is an extremely hard and horrible thing to admit to when [...]
This rollercoaster looks familiar. i had just posted a link to an article titled Get Real White South Africa, written by Milisuthando Bongela on the Times Lives site. It contained this challenging and eye-opening statement: Only white people can end white supremacy from within their communities - from their churches, schools, dinner tables, clamber clubs, sports clubs, boardrooms, banting restaurants, neighbourhood-watch WhatsApp groups, advertising agency brainstorms, rebranded Broederbond organisations, newsrooms, coffee roasteries, and homes. Which [...]
And we're back - just three bloggerists this time, but two amazing story-tellers joining me for another season of Tandem Blog posting. Join myself, Megan and Dave as we take the same title and give it our own personal and unique flavour... = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = THAT NAGGING FEELING 'Gently does it. Keep your speed average. Not too fast. Not too slow. We [...]
i saw this picture of a giant stack of bacon on Facebook the other day: And fortunately someone hadn't yet shared this particular piece on my wall [although give it time] but it still made me a little angry. It had the message "Tag someone you know who would eat this" and fortunately no one had yet, because you know what? i would not eat that much bacon. Gasp! Shock! Horror! WHAT? Surely you jest? [...]
An empty wall, except for the occasional message graffiti tag that has drawn attention away from the desperate need for a paint job. Mandela Day and the creation of opportunities under the 67 minutes banner for the general public to get involved in goodness. A creative sister-in-law with a vision, a plan and template presenting the basic idea of blocked design she was going for. A raggedy bunch of volunteers from churches, Improv [...]
i was busy painting my block for the uThando leNkosi wall painting project as part of our 67 minutes and a bit for Mandela Day yesterday when things got a little interesting. A lady i had just met, assuming i guess, that we were a bunch of christians helping out with this project, decided to break some ice, by turning to those closest to her and asking, 'What church do you go to?' My friend [...]
i woke up this morning to the Twitterer hashtag #IfIDieInCustody sparked by yet another police vs person of colour incident in Americaland. i have already blogged about it here, but the semi-poet in me kept screaming words and phrases and so eventually i sat down and came up with three different flavoured micropoems, for three different groups of people: = = = = = = = white america to those of you who have made [...]
If i was a pastor in Americaland this coming Sunday, my sermon would definitely contain the words 'If i die in police custody' which is a trending hashtag on The Twitterer right now. TAKE A MOMENT WITH THAT. #IfIDieInPoliceCustody Last Friday, a black woman was returning home from a job interview in Waller County, Texas, when she was stopped by police after failing to properly signal a lane change. Two days later, she was dead [...]
A while back, under the Taboo Topics section of my blog i invited a group of friends to share some stories they are living with regards to disability. This week i was asked if i could share this post highlighting some of what has been taking place in Americaland with regards to people with disabilities as well as some opportunities in which you can get involved. This guest post comes courtesy of Janessa Dayan, Cause Outreach [...]
i believe there is a town where you stay called competence it seems you never venture far outside of its boundaries because any time i need some help you appear to be still very much there [To read more of my shorter poem vibes, click here]