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Our Sense Of Commonality Focuses On Freedom
The Lyceum on the University of Mississippi campus in many ways is a symbol that communicates the values of Mississippi, the challenges it faces and the triumphs it has celebrated.
By Kate du Toit
The city of Port Elizabeth isn’t the most “hip” or modern city in South Africa, but it definitely has something which the other South African cities do not.
The wind, absolutely, but far more importantly, our genuine interest in those around us. We are warm and inviting. Meet us for the first time, give us half a chance, and we will invite you to a family braai (barbecue) or out for drinks with friends, simply so that you feel welcome in your new city.
It is difficult to know what the students from the University of Mississippi felt as they flew across the Atlantic on their first venture into Africa. However, when they arrived, they most certainly must have been surprised.
As educated individuals, we know they were not expecting to see elephants walking in the streets (although we do have our fair share of donkeys and cows) or for everyone in the class to be wearing grass skirts (or less). They would definitely, however, have had anxieties about some subtler issues: Will I be safe? How will I be treated as a person of color? Will I clearly see the effects apartheid has had on the nation?
These questions are undeniably relevant in a nation known internationally for its crime rate and for having only had its first democratic elections 18 years ago. What they most likely did not expect, but came to realise, is the number of similarities our nations have. Yes, we are 14,135 km (8,779 miles) apart, and yet we are dealing with many comparable political and cultural issues.
It was on this premise that a small group of students from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and our Ole Miss guests spent a week in evening lectures by Professor Will Norton, dean of the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at The University of Mississippi. This exchange provided not only the opportunity to fine tune our writing skills, but also
to reflect, contemplate and discuss what makes us different yet the same.
The final result – this publication, filled with our personal stories and reflections on South Africa and Mississippi today.
A definite trend that has emerged amongst South Africans, in particular the younger generation, is the ability to combine humour — a kind of “laughing at ourselves,” with the acknowledgment of the serious issues we face daily. It is a core part of who we are as South Africans and of what makes South Africa what it is. This trend also has emerged, without any previous discussion within the group, in many of the essays in this publication.
Sit in a local coffee shop next to a table of the new young South African working class, and you will notice that they are of every race and have great fun joking with each other about their different cultural norms. Ask almost anyone, regardless of race or wealth, urban or rural, who one of their favourite South African comedians is and they will say Trevor Noah. Why? Because he stands in the centre. He is not of one particular ‘race’ but is of Swedish and Xhosa descent and therefore manages, with great skill, to help us all to laugh at ourselves whilst acknowledging what still needs to be done and who we would still like to become as a nation.
Foreigners often struggle with this particular way of being. Some become offended rather than taking the time to listen and understand that this is a core part of who we now are and the reason why it is so. After all, we are dealing with a rather unique situation. Not only do we have many more than the 14 designated official languages, but each of our languages comes with a cultural background.
Clearly, we are constantly learning how to move from our complicated past to create a future dynamic that we all will love.
Mississippi also has a complicated racial past. A past they also are still constantly working through. The history of both these areas has resulted in serious issues being addressed in this publication. Sometimes they are sad, sometimes shocking and sometimes spoken of with a chuckle or a laugh. Each essay, does, however, give a truthful glimpse into the South Africa and Mississippi we all live in today.
These essays portray our constant grappling with racial and cultural differences, the search of some to find a space in which we all can operate and the frustration with those who do not have this common good in mind. The question of what freedom means to each of us individually invoked deep longings and convictions.
A picture of hope sitting alongside desperation and sadness has emerged. Daily we see some of the worst situations one could imagine — poverty, crime, road rage, sickness, the abuse of women, the struggles over the role of men and woman in our society … seemingly endless and overwhelming. And then — a hand of kindness, an act of selflessness, that person who has given up everything to help, the politician who goes against the norm, a beautiful big luscious laugh — it is the inspirational stories of individuals that continually motivate and drive us to see the future of freedom in our nations. It is the lesson Nelson Mandela, our greatest freedom fighter, the father of our nation, stated so eloquently when he said, “I am fundamentally an optimist. … Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed toward the sun, one’s feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.”
And so it was with this sense of commonality and desire for freedom of a different kind that our new Mississippi friends boarded their plane to head back home. Their great African adventure resulted in not only a great welcome to warm and friendly Port Elizabeth, but also a sense of self-awareness and a vast amount to think about.
Now, as you pick up your cup of tea or glass of wine and take some time out to enjoy the essays that follow, we hope you also will feel inspired and can say along with us, THIS is what makes me proudly a citizen of change.
