Watching various documentaries about the black liberation struggles over the years. The 20th century saw the emergence of many black leaders; both in Africa and the African diaspora take a stand against discrimination of humans based on race. It is just the extreme misfortune that the most discriminated peoples on this Earth has happened to be us Black people. Again, whether in our own continent or abroad, the black man has suffered a great deal. The modern youth of today, we celebrate the victories won by these freedom fighters. We young South Africans are seen in wild parties celebrating our freedom. At first, it used to disgust me that our celebration of freedom we have to express in extreme drunkenness and debauchery. However, my disgust was put to shame when I heard a young lady said that fact she can drink as the fish in the sea among people of other races and in places previously reserved for the White, opened my eyes to the new South Africa that we are privileged to live in. A new South Africa we can confidently call home.
However, the story does not end there. In this new South Africa, we still experience some forms of oppression. It is not as visible and in your face as it was in the evil years of Apartheid. Even though we dance and move to the beat of our new independence from any form our white rule, there seems to be a kind of feeling that as a Blackman we cannot escape. A kind of feeling that awakes us to the realization that the struggle is not quite over. In an interview about Nelson Mandela, his fellow freedom fighter (forgot his name) said that what they did was lay the foundation for freedom and that it is imperative that we should not allude ourselves into thinking that we now free. That made one think deeply. That made one realize that the feeling in question is actually that. It is the realization that South Africa, the new South Africa we proudly call home still has rooms locked to certain people. I cannot speak for the Colored, White or Indian people of our land because I do not know what they are struggling with. However, as a Black youth in this country, one is somehow faced with this realization and the need therefore to understand and interpret it further.
Someone like myself, I am not a politician. I do not even desire to be one because I fear my life will shorten. However, statements spoken by the friend of Nelson Mandela resonant in my heart. It begs to ask the question what is one doing to advance South Africa forward? A young Black South African is not oblivious to the past that marks their skin. The poem by Thabo Mbeki “I’m an African” marks my identity as a ‘Born Free’ of South Africa. A great deal of my existence refuses to believe that the freedom of ’94 ended the ails of the Blackman. That indeed what the friend of Nelson Mandela said is very much true. One feels it especially in university where almost every Black graduate is only acquiring the knowledge worthy of a degree to obtain a job. To sell their life by the hour just to be alive. It is sad that most of these graduates never get jobs in the first place; failing to see the power they gain by being graduates. Power they can actively use to transform the villages and townships they come from.
Yes, it is true that most of us (even from the middle class background) we are taught that only education can transform our lives. More precisely, education in becoming a teacher or nurse can transform our lives. Thus, it is a common practice to witness a black graduate enter a PGCE program or something of that nature. Some black students from the beginning of their degree choose the ‘easy way out’. Basically, they choose a degree that someone advised was easy to do and could easily get a job from. Only to be disappointed at the end of the degree. Because it being the ‘easy way out’ degree, the knowledge obtained does not become a rare skill therefore one does not become a needed commodity. This slave thinking of believing that employment is the only source of emancipation I believe leads to that feeling that grips us still as Black people.
Not to be mistaken, employment is good. Employment does put some money in your pocket that you can use to change the lives of those around you. Employment does have the full ability to empower a person into a better position in life. Employment gives the society teachers, nurses and so forth a relevant position in society. However, employment should not be seen as the only definite means of financial and economical emancipation. Employment should be seen as the means to liberate oneself from poverty and not as the ends. The view of employment in the eyes of the Blackman must change from the flawed focal point as the sole savior from severe poverty. Especially among our graduates. During the Fees Must Fall campaigns, one came to realize how one is extremely fortunate to be in a position of obtaining a higher degree. One could see how those who actively chose the degree their pursuing, they used their knowledge to revolutionize and inspire other students into the campaigns. In their eyes, one could feel how important obtaining knowledge from a degree is and not just obtaining the piece of paper confirming one has the degree. It was magical to be around science, humanities, education and commerce students actively fighting for free higher education for all. Those who were pursuing degrees because of a non-existent promise of a job at the end, they were the ones who cowed and stayed in their rooms praying they can still make it to the exam hall by the end of the semester.
No one can ever deny the importance of education. Our great leaders were extremely educated men. Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, Huey Newton to mention a few. The Great Emperor Haile Selassie positioned himself as minister of education in Ethiopia for most of his rule over the mighty nation. Even the opposite spectrum is true that the evil system of Apartheid was engineered by an extremely intelligent individual. Education is powerful that it gives one the ability to think and create thought processes. Whether it be in construction or in the financial world, it is the knowledge that drives the sectors of society. Hence, many management models state that top management is usually characterized by conceptual skills rather than tactical skills. This is seen mostly in construction where the top engineers sit back, develop the plans for the infrastructure they building, and then leave the manual labor to workers who do not possess the skills to draw up plans and so forth. Therefore, it is every clear that with education, one can elevate oneself to upper echelons in society. This is the power that education has and this is why, I believe, our leaders continue to stress the importance of education in our communities.
The narrative must change. The narrative must change from dictating that education can get you employed as a Black child. The narrative must change to dictating that education gives one the ability to effectively change the society one lives in and one can reap the greater benefits that are found in those higher echelons of society. Most of us know the difference between the good teacher and the bad one. One has come to realize that the bad teacher is merely a product of this slave thinking of ‘become a teacher and at least rise above the pits of poverty’ theory. The good teacher is one who actively chose to be a teacher out passion, love or whatever fuel of motivation that inspired him or her to be a teacher. The same goes with nurses and so forth. This polarity of good or bad lessens as one journeys deeper into more rare skilled occupations such as specialized sciences and so forth because these degrees, most often or not, are chosen by the pupil and not bestowed by a teacher or parent. It is rare to find an unhappy lawyer because law is a field that requires having a great well of motivation to endure the challenges of knowledge accumulation in universities and post university to be deemed a certified lawyer. The same can be deduced with occupations such surgeons, chartered accountants and so forth. Moreover, most of the time, those who actively choose the degree of their choice, tend to flourish and truly free themselves from economic slavery.
South Africa has many challenges. The friend of Nelson Mandela is speaking one of the greatest truths to us the modern day South African. The freedom of ’94 was merely the beginning of a new era of South Africa. The scars of colonialism and oppression still exist in our land and us, the majority, have endured the worst of it. It is imperative that we align our thinking in diagnosing the problems and with the knowledge we acquire in universities, colleges and so froth; find the solutions to free us from the shackles that still hold us captive.