Coloured as an ethnicity and racial demographic is intertwined in the creation of the South Africa we have today. Yet often, coloured communities are disdained as people with no clear heritage or culture — “not being black enough or white enough”.
Coloured: How Classification Became Cultured challenges this notion and presents a different angle to that narrative.
It delves into the history of coloured people as descendants of indigenous Africans and a people whose identity was shaped by colonisation, slavery and the racial political hierarchy it created.
Although rooted in a difficult history, this book is also about the culture coloured communities have created for themselves through food, music and shared lived experiences in communities such as Eldorado Park, Eersterus, and Wentworth. Coloured culture is an act of defiance and resilience.
Coloured is a reflection on and celebration of coloured identities as lived experiences. It is a call to coloured communities to reclaim their identity and an invitation to understand the history and place of coloured people in the making of South Africa’s future.
Listen to the authors’ conversation here:
LISTEN | A call to coloured communities to reclaim their identity
In this episode of Jonathan Ball Publishers’ Pagecast podcast, Tessa Dooms and Lynsey Ebony Chutel discuss their new book ‘Coloured: How Classification Became Culture’
Image: Supplied
Coloured as an ethnicity and racial demographic is intertwined in the creation of the South Africa we have today. Yet often, coloured communities are disdained as people with no clear heritage or culture — “not being black enough or white enough”.
Coloured: How Classification Became Cultured challenges this notion and presents a different angle to that narrative.
It delves into the history of coloured people as descendants of indigenous Africans and a people whose identity was shaped by colonisation, slavery and the racial political hierarchy it created.
Although rooted in a difficult history, this book is also about the culture coloured communities have created for themselves through food, music and shared lived experiences in communities such as Eldorado Park, Eersterus, and Wentworth. Coloured culture is an act of defiance and resilience.
Coloured is a reflection on and celebration of coloured identities as lived experiences. It is a call to coloured communities to reclaim their identity and an invitation to understand the history and place of coloured people in the making of South Africa’s future.
Listen to the authors’ conversation here:
Article provided by Jonathan Ball Publishers
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