i wasn’t originally thinking of this as a Taboo Topic topic.

but then when i started looking on the book of faces for people to write for me and had friends using terms like ‘can of worms’ and ‘Pandora’s Box’ to describe what i was suggesting, it made me wonder if that is not exactly where it needs to go.

is no one speaking about this?

having lived in Americaland for the last three years [in diverse and mixed culture neighborhoods, more so than ever back home i think] and been somewhat aware of some of the bigger questions of race over here in terms of issues such as mass incarceration, stand your ground, the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman trial and more this feels like it is as relevant over here as it is back home.

being a white, heterosexual, able-bodied, right-handed, male i pretty much fit into every box of privilege possible [except perhaps for my dreads, they help me lose a little ground, thank you dreads] but we can’t deal with them all here so let’s start with white and we can move on from there.

i certainly did not start apartheid or have anything directly to do with enforcing it, but i certainly benefited from it [while also losing so much because of it in the greater scheme of things] and as much as i’d just like the idea of that to be over or dealt with or forgotten so that we can “just move on people”, i don’t believe that is the solution. all of us need to truly own our past so that together we can walk more strongly [and hopefully more united…ly?] into our collective future.

Identity and What makes me me – a collection of stories from a variety of people with a race-related theme to them.

Race in South Africa: Moving Towards a truly Rainbow Nation: Some thoughts on first steps for white people from some black people i have met.

What I would like my white friends to hear/know/consider – i asked some friends of mine who are not white to share with us some things they’d like us to hear

Some thoughts i [and others] had on White Privilege – Such an important part of the conversation and a difficult one for whites to seem to admit to or even realise.

Dear Bloggers of Undetermined Colour – Thoughts and reflections on some Heritage Day vs Braai Day posts…

Mixed Race and Culture connections – What happens when two worlds meet? Stories from mixed race/culture relationships…

I will not apologise for my white privilege – a compilation of some of the thoughts being expressed out of Princeton this week

The Wisdom of Others when it comes to conversations about Race – Three more helpful perspectives from the USA relating to different crucial aspects of this conversation.

Exploring White Privilege – some helpful outside perspective thoughts on South Africa from someone studying these things

Don’t strive to be Colourblind, work towards being Colour Brave – with reference to a TED talk by Mellody Hobson

The Power of Words – Sometimes the words or the questions we speak can have such a powerful effect.

The Truth hiding behind the Humour – comedian Hari Kodabolu shares some insights on race and particularly ‘the other’

Some thoughts from the Internet – on Post-Racial America and White Privilege

With White Power comes Great Fragility – Why is it that white people tend to freak out around the race conversation?