The Last Word
IS HELEN ZILLE’S CAPE TOWN RACIST? “Calling a City racist may just be a Mandela bridge too far!” t the end of last year there was a big discussion about Cape Town (CT) being racist. If you have heard me on the phone without seeing me, I could easily sound like a John Smith who went to Bishops High School in CT. With that, a friend’s parents thought it appropriate to remind me that I was black. A comment I found quite unnecessary although I am first to admit that I can also be quite unnecessary sometimes.
lived there for maybe eight years in total, so I know the scene. I have observed some blacks trying to come into a bar and they have been told that you have to be on a guest list or some other reason that leads to their exclusion. Then there are the times when we stroll into an expensive restaurant in a group of about six blacks and the looks we receive make it seem like we were there to rob people. But it is not the place, it is the people.
I visit CT a lot and I am of the view that calling it racist might be a Mandela bridge too far. True, the place is still very segregated, but no one makes that a law, it is just how it is. Quite often I cruise the streets with my brother and friends and we remark that we are the only ‘brothers’ in the area. Given how common this occurrence is, I am convinced that there is a huge void when it comes to successful middle class blacks in the city.
The thing that exacerbates this thinking is the migration of many whites to CT. It is no coincidence that this corresponds with the fact that this is a DA run city and there is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, an underlying undertone would be that the rest of the country is not good enough because it is run by the brothers. Yes, I said it!
But the city isn’t racist per se, some elements of CT are racist definitely but that is like any other city in this country. The only difference I believe is that industry in Johannesburg is big enough for blacks to prosper. That is a relevant aspect because I worked in CT for two years but could not stay longer. You hit a ceiling very quickly. If your life isn’t really about the mountain, the beach, the runs on the promenade, wine routes, the sea and Caprice on Sunday evenings, well then the big smoke beckons. What I will say though is that my experience of CT is different to a lot of other Jozi blacks though. I
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EXPATRIATE
Anyway I can rant on about this forever. CT is a beautiful little city with some super good-looking ladies. There are racist elements just as there are some really good people of which I know plenty! Instead of sitting on the outskirts and passing commentary about how racist the place is there is
nothing really restricting blacks from moving there and just making it happen for ourselves save perhaps for the ridiculously high property prices. In life you have to prioritise and decide the best course or path for your life so don’t be bleak because you decide to chase money instead of the mountain. Yaw Peprah is a self employed entrepreneur pursuing interests in business advisory, consultancy and commodity brokering. www.asitissoitis.blogspot.com