African Diversity - Cape Town Class

In addition to top-notch infrastructure, Bay-Area-esque feel, and severe lack of wild animals running around, Cape Town eluded its "African" stereotypes in another way -- my skin fit in. How could this be? After all, South Africa is only 18% white!

Staying in the tourist area close to the VA Waterfront, and presumably one of the most affluent parts of town, racial demographics seem askew. Our Nigerian friend EG observed this as well...a severe lack of bi-racial couples, especially noticeable to her and her Anglo-American boyfriend, Wes. Though not completely absent of racial diversity, this well-to-do area is hardly representative of the city as a whole. Speaking to this point, a former DePaul University classmate of mine made a poignant observation: "You can't talk about race without talking about class." And in Cape Town you see the striking truth to this statement. Cape Town is where race and class collide and divide.

This reality became conspicuously apparent toward the end of our trip. As inevitably happens in unfamiliar cities, Brian and I took a wrong turn on our way back to the city. As we drove past the casinos trying to find an alternate route, our environment became strikingly familiar -- vendors walking between cars selling anything from fruit to car mats; make-shift shanties flanking the roadway; and, of course, our skin color placed us in the minority. No...we were not in Lagos. We had stumbled upon one of Cape Town's many "townships" where the less than affluent reside and apparently black skin was a condition of lease.

In my previous blog Class-ic Racism I wrote, "In Nigeria it is not my race that I notice most...it is my class." But pondering once again my former classmates statement, I know she is right. You cannot talk about race without talking about class...even in Africa.