After over 30 hours of traveling this weekend, I’m finally back home in Virginia. When I got home from the airport, I started unpacking my suitcase full of gifts and explaining each one to my parents. During the process, my dad asked me how I would describe my whole experience in South Africa. After taking a second to think about the question, I responded, “It was good. But it was incomplete.” I looked up to my mom, who was kneeling on the floor with me, admiring the hand-carved pottery I bought in Port Elizabeth and said, “That’s why I have to go back.”
When my dad asked me to elaborate on my response, I had to explain the missing pieces. Yes, I made great friends and had a lot of fun, but I feel like those are self explanatory. That’s not what was missing.
Our class was titled, “Social Responsibility Enterprise and Education in Post Apartheid South Africa.” The substance of the class focused on the education system in Grahamstown and the disparities created by apartheid. It was pointed out to me during my own presentation on the ANC’s Reconstruction & Development Program that I didn’t mention the experience of colored people (those who are not white Afrikaaners nor African people). I did have some knowledge of the geographical area colored people in Grahamstown lived in. I interviewed two faculty members at Rhodes University’s geography department for my research and one of them, lecturer Philippa Irvine was gracious enough to share her master’s thesis with me. It was on Post-Apartheid Racial Integration in Grahamstown from a time-geological perspective. Within the thesis, she mapped out the “Apartheid City Model,” the spatial dispositions of each racial group and corresponding economic class in the city. With the exception of this brief overview, I realized that colored people were generally excluded from our class discussions as a whole. We spent so much time in the township, there was little to no interaction with the Indian, colored or Afrikaans communities.
On the one hand, the way we spent our time makes sense. Black people are the dominant racial group in the country (based on numbers, of course) and therefore, most of the people we met would be of color. One the other hand, the way South Africans define “color” and the way it’s played out in political and social systems was not explored to the greatest extent possible. Although I don’t identify as mixed race, I do find value in including those who do into the greater conversation on race, apartheid and the “Rainbow Nation.” After all, we know upward mobility and economic status are linked to these historical policies all based on the color of one’s skin. We know the South African democracy is 20 years young and the government is sorting out it’s kinks – some of which may be more valid than others. Some of us who are sports fans may recognize the country for it’s recent role as host for some major tournaments, which brings with it international attention, national pride and many teachable moments. So, when I spoke to Ms. Irvine about the political and economic state of the country, one of the things she said to me was:
The problem is that change requires cash for the individual and our political transformation was just a political transformation. It wasn’t an economic transformation. The government has worked in the constraints of what our country looks like and how our economy is structured, but that’s not radical change. South Africa isn’t seeing radical change and it probably never will.
Reactions to the above statement might label her outlook anywhere on the spectrum from completely false to pessimistic to refreshingly realistic. Personally, I see it as intriguing, a motivator to study more and understand this unique emerging national economy. Since I don’t consider myself an economist by any means, I don’t want to ignore the power of experiential learning and how valuable it is to academic, professional and personal growth. If I learned anything on this trip, it’s that there’s so much I want to know more about – and not just “know,” but to see, to study and to understand. When it comes to education, whether formal or not, there is always more to be continued. I don’t think change needs to be radical, but can be incremental and impactful with time. Hopefully the work I will soon begin in Atlanta at the Georgia Justice Project and a neighborhood revitalization firm will add another layer of depth to my experience, which will one day lead to change on a scale I have yet to fathom.
Skillin' it 