Would you say you have a group of diverse friends? Two days ago, i shared a thread on the Twitterer that kinda exploded a little bit [in a good way!] With over 400 retweets and a whole lot of [mostly] positive engagement, it really felt like people were resonating with what was being said. So i decided to move it to a blog post as means of getting it in front of more eyes and [...]
What is it like to be teaching during a pandemic? As we close in on a year-and-a-half of what has been a world-shaking pandemic, everyone has paid a cost. Whether it has been personal or in your community, financial or mental-health related, no-one has escaped. But some have definitely paid more than others. A teacher friend asked if they could use this space to share some of their thoughts and feelings and experiences as [...]
Anti-racism work with friends beats anti-racism work by yourself. Since returning from America with the absolute determination to confront my own racism and try to make a difference in South Africa this work really has been a key factor in my life. And Megan Choritz has been one of my friends who has helped really shape my thinking and understanding and doing. Part of that makes a lot of sense as she has been [...]
i have found that racism definitions can often create a bit of a problem... Can a black person be racist? Yes, absolutely. And also, no, not at all! This question comes up a lot and i'm not sure i have actually answered it on my blog but i thought it might be helpful to at least give it a try. This is how i understand this question. Two Definitions The biggest problem which i [...]
We are listening to the stories of people who have lost someone [or more than one] to Covid-19 and today my friend Nicky Vigeland shares some of her story with us:Life in the midst of death2020. We all had many expectations, many dreams and so much hope. Who would’ve thought it would end up the way it did?Coronavirus landed in SA, we all closed up shop, worked from home and adapted as best we could.We [...]
Lockdown seems to have been a good time for many white people who have recognised that they have work to do in terms of personal anti-racism. There have been a lot of conversations online as well as Zoom call conversations and a whole host of webinars and more, especially in the wake of the George Floyd murder, which grabbed a lot of people's attention around the world. And i have been making videos. Short [...]
i wrote a poem this morning considering how the same words coming out of different mouths can mean a variety of things. Different worlds, even. [For another poem i wrote a while back on 'Whiteness' click here]
The Move One Million Facebook group has organised a nationwide march today, on the 5th of September 2020. Why is the 2020 significant, you may ask? Well, South Africa and the world happens to be in the throes of a global pandemic that to date has killed more than eight hundred thousand people [including fourteen thousand in South Africa]. That alone should be cause for concern. But tuning in to watch a maskless Move [...]
Is white guilt a thing and should we have more of it? The third part of my Blogger's Block series prompt came courtesy of a Twitterer friend, Keri Stroebel who asked this: Why do so many white people attack other white people who are trying to be anti-racist? Why use the terms "white saviour", or accuse you having "white guilt" or even straight up call you a traitor to your race? i invited her [...]
It is hard to be a South African sometimes. As a white South African, i sit with the heavy injustices of colonialism and apartheid in my rear view mirror all the time. As a black, coloured or indian South African, they live in the consequences of colonialism and apartheid as well as a worldwide uplifting of whiteness to the detriment of everything else. As a male, we sit with a horrific pandemic of violence [...]
