3 years ago
1
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The illusion of blackness should not hold us back!
Racism is about economics, a fear for survival and preserving white privilege. Within racism lies both conscious and unconscious bias. Many white people would not be able to identify their real reasons for their biases towards black people because their prejudice has been socialised. These concepts equally apply to gender inequality.
Sexism and patriarchy have existed since the dawn of time, and these are again human systems that have been damaging to women throughout the world and across all cultures.
I have been reading N Chabani Manganyi’s book which he wrote in 1972: Being Black in the World. Manganyi is a revered clinical psychologist who documented grappling with the issue of being black in the world back then. It was good to see what was happening in SA in 1972 through the lens of a black psychologist.
What struck me while I was reading the book was that the concept of being black did not exist before 1652. Black Africans did not see themselves as being black and inferior, they were just people who were living their lives according to the social dynamics of that time.
Being black was an illusion created when white settlers first arrived in SA and told them that they are black and inferior while they, on the other hand, were white and superior.
For 370 years, black Africans have been contending with inferiority in race which is nothing more than a mere myth. Myths are not real and can therefore not affect anybody unless they are believed. The extent of psychological damage suffered by black people because of racism is something that cannot be measured.
In today’s generation, both black and white people have been born into a country that functions according to this illusion and we all do not know what normal without racism looks like. Only human beings are concerned about the colour of people’s skin. The whole of nature embrace diversity.
I always marvel at the different species of roses in my garden all with different bushes, leaves, flowers, and colours. Each bush creating their own unique kind of beauty. None think they are better than the other, they know that their creations are just different. Black people need to find their own unique creativity so that they can make their own contribution in the world.
White people created myths about black people being failures, inferior, small and incapable, and black people have not been allowed to function as their true selves because they do not really know who they are outside of the myths invented and socialised by society. They cannot fulfil their full potential and make a real contribution in the world while they continue to believe these myths about themselves.
In my autobiography, Awakened… to my true self, I have divulged on my experiences of racism and sexism throughout my life and in business. I didn’t let the myths that have been constructed around black people and women stop me and I fearlessly pursued my dream of owning my own accounting firm, Gobodo Incorporated, which later became the fifth-largest accounting firm in SA.
Black people and women do not need anybody’s permission to embark on their journey of healing and self-discovery. We can all today start to be serious about ending race and gender inequality and see real economic growth in twenty years.
* Gobodo is founder of Awakened Global, a movement that seeks to see true liberation against prejudice for the disadvantaged, particularly black people and women
English (US)