Wow! What an hour and a half. Just listened to this entertaining conversation on black and white racism in America by Michael Gungor and Science Mike who are in conversation with Propaganda and William Matthews on so many different aspects of race which, while focused specifically on Americaland, have so much to teach us and help open our eyes. It is a lot of fun as well as they banter well so if you have [...]
Do you remember where you voted in 1994? Where you were when the twin towers fell on 9/11? How about when we won the 1995 World Cup of Rugby? More importantly, where did you stand in 2016? The year everything changed... We are in the middle of making History. It started picking up pace with Rhodes Must Fall which was followed by Fees Must Fall and either the Anti-Corruption marches or the Zuma Must Fall [...]
"When I came back from overseas, the road I had grown up on had been changed to Robert Sobukwe drive. That is all I knew of him." One of the comments after the Robert Sobukwe documentary 60 to 80 of us watched together last night in a cafe called Jou Ma Se Kombuis situated on the edge of Manenberg. i was not oblivious to the fact that the majority of people in the room [although [...]
i hear that so often in conversations of race. But what am i meant to do? It sounds like an honest question and a healthy cry for help. But as a matter of fact i am starting to realise that it is incredibly lazy. You are asking me to give you the answers [which is at least one step up from the oppressors asking the oppressed for answers] so that you don't have to do [...]
South Africans, i love you. All of you. i sat in a room this morning with a handful of people, some linked to the university who represented a collective called Disrupting Whiteness and some from the non-profit organisation called The Warehouse, and a handful of others. It felt like a room full of incredible people with huge potential for significant change in the future of our country and inspired a lot of hope. But i [...]
Hey, you! Yes, YOU! i see you! Is that maybe not everything we want to hear and know? That i am seen. That someone acknowledges my existence and my presence. That someone knows my name. That i count. i matter. DO YOU SEE? Think back over this week… What was the name of the car guard you tipped with a R2 you found in the corner of your purse? The [...]
My name is Linde Ndaba and I’m addicted. My addiction might not have me shacking relentlessly from withdrawal symptoms, as drug dependence often does or leave me broke and destitute, but it may arguably be just as problematic. As a black person raised in a white suburb (Pinelands) in South Africa, my neighbourhood friends rarely made the effort to know my world. In fact I can count the occasions where they correctly pronounced my name [...]
What a birthday! Started with breakfast with tbV [aka the beautiful Val, my lovely wife] and our former housemates from Oakland, California, Aaron and Sarah at Martin’s, a local bakery/restaurant just down the road from us. It finished with […]
There is a vicious rumour going around that you can’t meet people on the internet. That is completely true and some of my best friends at the moment are people i have engaged with online and never [or only recently – hi Trevor Black!] met in real life… Sindile, Linde, Felicity and so many more of you can attest to that – while real life is better by far, until you get there, it is [...]
On Wednesday it is my birthday. i am turning 42 which, according to ‘The Hitchkhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Douglas Adams is the answer to the question, ‘What is the Meaning of Life?’ That’s right, i am literally going to be The Meaning of Life… years old. […]
