i would like to invite you to Race with Me. i am on a journey of anti-racism which begins in the mirror. Working on myself, checking for blind spots, looking to make sure that i am doing better at this than i was doing yesterday. Before moving on to my community and the systems and structures around me and seeing what differences can be made there. It always begins with me. i have not [...]
A lot more people than normal seem to be exploring anti-racism, which is good. What is important is that this momentum continues. This cannot be a fad or a flavour-of-the-month or a dabble. This move towards being less racist personally and working in the spaces you find yourself to help them become less racist will likely keep us busy for the rest of our lives. This work needs to be sustained. But it really [...]
People seem to be jumping into race conversations more than ever. Which is great. With that comes a phrase that has the power to kickstart defensiveness for so many people: White Privilege "How dare you say I have white privilege? My family grew up poor!" "White Privilege? I had to work three jobs to get to where I am today!" "Maybe in the past that was a thing, but these days with BEE..." Are [...]
In spaces of social justice and activism there is often a call for greater kindness. Which i absolutely agree with. But for who? 'Be Kind, but with Spine!' Wow! That is a powerful quote i read today [which may or may not be by Karen Salmansohn, hard to determine] and it sums up quite well what i wanted to write about. i believe deeply in being kind. In the scary and often brutal world we [...]
My friend Terence is so negative: Seriously though, on a day when white people were showing solidarity with their one black friend, Terence had to go and make them feel bad. And they did - read the comments. There must be discomfort when confronting injustice Let me just be clear here - Terence is not negative. i agree with his status completely. But it led to one interaction with an old friend of mine [...]
i started this as a thread on the Twitterer but thought it might be good to stick it here as well. If you're a white person reading this, i want to encourage you to answer a couple of questions honestly. Then, when you get to the end, read the instruction and work through them one more time. White friends: i'm not sure enough of us get how different our lived experiences are simply because [...]
The Colourblind argument seems to be a confusing one for many people. White people, trying to do the right thing, often hold on to the statement: I don't see colour. While completely believing it. i would like to approach that from a different direction than i have before, which might make it easier for some of you to get. Many of my best friends are black, coloured and indian people. And no, that's not [...]
Does the term 'anti-racist' sit well with you? i admit that any term that defines someone as something they're not or something they're against feels unwieldy to me. This is why i come out so strongly against the term 'non-white'. It puts white people in the middle as the norm or accepted or perfect thing and then distances anyone who is called non-white away from that. As if whiteness is normal or right or [...]
The stories about Life during Lockdown continue to come and today we have the reflections and experiences of Kat Gensicke: My name is Katharina Lindiwe Gensicke and I am a 23-year-old, German-South African social developmental activist and student working in the digital education sector. [1] What has been your experience of lockdown so far? I live at home with my parents, younger brother and 2 dogs. Fortunately, I am still be able to continue [...]
Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of Life during Lockdown where Beauty Bokwani will be telling us a little bit about herself and her experiences. Let's start with her bio:My name is Beauty Bokwani. I'm the owner of Zoe Educare in Extention 13 Belhar. I love to tell stories; writing children's stories memoirs, and poetry.Question 1: What has your experience of lockdown been so far?"My fellow South Africans..." This was how the president introduced [...]
