SOUTH AFRICA
These are some of the recent posts that i and others have made to hopefully challenge and encourage and educate you as you try and figure out how to do life better in South Africa. Please feel free to share any of these posts that are helpful with people you think it might help to take one more step towards…
All Lives Smatter – a collection of thoughts about race, painting all people with the same brush and the need for whites to engage with whites
All White Lives Matter – a “Black Lives Matter for Dummies” kind of post
Ask before you leap [to conclusions] – a post looking at how we engage when we engage with others on race
8 Steps to help me become a better ally of my friends of colour – a short but helpful reminder
But pity the mutants – a painful look at how white people are able to feel more empathy for fictional characters and pets than black people
But What Can I Do? – 40 Tips for white South Africans genuinely asking this question
Entitlement with an “i” – a brief glimpse into the problem of entitlement in our country
If I were white, I’d have been able to breathe – guest post by Thandi Nkomo
Race with me – short video clips explaining race issues simply to white people
She turned to me and asked me if being an Umlungu was something i enjoyed.
The Better Black/Coloured/Indian – some friends share stories about the standard of whiteness that has been pressured on them
The queen, my dad, and Sarafina – guest post by Thandi Nkomo
Ways in which white people are better than black people [part I] – a very short post.
Ways in which white people aren’t better than black people [part II] – a more wordier post.
When someone with an African name gives you their “easier” English name.
When the offence is that you’re offended – looking a little deeper into entitlement in South Africa.
What we can learn from Bronze
LET'S LEARN FROM THIS GUY A couple of different people shared this story with me this last week and it was so powerful that i really wanted to try and capture the heart of it [...]
How to be an Ally: Move to the Back
Continuing the search on how to be a more effective ally when it comes to my black, coloured and indian friends in South Africa. While it was not specifically an Ally Series post, this piece [...]
Before i comment…
Yesterday i wrote a post titled, 'Before you favourite, RT, forward...' which started with Back to the Future memes [not serious at all] and ended with alleged swimming lesson racism [very serious]. The focus being on [...]
How to be an Ally: On being a non-black Ally in Africa. [Guest Post: Alexa Matthews]
Continuing with the conversation about ‘How to be an Ally’ with my friend Alexa Matthews who has a huge heart for this kind of thing and the humility to understand that we are trying to [...]
Taboo Topic: The People who Work for Us – Intro
This is a complex one. We don’t presently have a maid/domestic worker but have spoken about the possibility of employing someone in that role. And this is not a witch hunt to try and make [...]
Learning Xhosa: Your move.
In August, i invited you all to Come and Xhosa with Me. After two weeks i shared a post called Xhosa and Effect, highlighting some of the things i was thinking about as we were [...]
I am Stellenbosch [and other stories we tell our kids before they go to bed]
So this past week a picture appeared on my Twitterer of a white girl with a statement written on a board that made me cringe: Suddenly more and more of these pictures were popping up [...]
How to be an Ally: The Ten Commandments of Communication
My friends Alexa Russell Matthews and Nicole Joshua recently ran a workshop titled, "The 'Colour' Elephant in the Room" which you can read some of a participant's experience of over here. What stood out to me [...]
How to be an Ally: Intro
When i was looking for an image to reflect the idea of becoming an Ally i found this poster and really liked it. Because the question that i am wrestling with at the moment is [...]
Where the Hope lies…
In a moment of brave-ity two night's ago i decided to ask the South African internet a question. I was reading a book that pointed back to the idea of South Africa being renamed Azania [...]