Set Adrift on the West Coast

This was somewhat foreign territory for me. The West Coast of South Africa was about as far as you could get from where I grew up, at least without leaving the country all together. Now, living in Cape Town, the ice cold waters of the West were not much further away than a few moments… Continue reading Set Adrift on the West Coast

On Best White and Other Anxious Delusions

If you watched last year’s MTV Video Music Awards, where Beyoncé received the coveted Video Vanguard Award, you will know that Laverne Cox had a better time than anyone else. During Beyoncé’s flawless 16-minute performance, Cox was dancing, singing along and being an endless source of “yaaaaaaaaaaasssss” memes. Reading South African author Rebecca Davis’ book… Continue reading On Best White and Other Anxious Delusions

Spheres of Influence

Following the events in the U.S. cities of Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland, the Internet has caught fire with up-to-the-minute dispatches of the protests and engagements between U.S. citizens—more specifically African-Americans and allies against the particular stigmas that they face daily. Pictures and videos ranging from toppling and destruction of police vehicles and looting to… Continue reading Spheres of Influence

From Dehumanization to Humanization

With all that’s going on in the world, and in our country right now, my mind can rarely get away from the idea and reality of dehumanization―its ugliness, what it allows us to do, what it allows us to accept, what it allows us to become. Dehumanization is a nasty cycle. The homeless youth I… Continue reading From Dehumanization to Humanization

From Ferguson to Philippi

I live in Cape Town, South Africa. Far away from the community organizing, battle-waging on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, I read through the effects of police brutality from my news sources in my own backyard and I am overcome with a sense of connectedness with these problems. In my short life, I have met… Continue reading From Ferguson to Philippi