It's a Black-White Thing

by Donna Bryson

In 2008, the University of the Free State was thrust into the international spotlight when the racist Reitz video became public. Have South Africans changed in any significant way since 1994, or are black and white still constrained by racial stereotypes? This is the question American-born Donna Bryson asks herself as she goes to investigate the tensions on the UFS campus. On the UFS campus, black and white have had to learn to live together, but this has not always been easy.

242 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2014

Reviews

[Karen Ashmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met the author at a book reading and was inspired to buy the book. It is a fascinating story of the integration of the University of the Free State in post apartheid South Africa. I am embarrassed to say I had to look up some of the terms and phrases. For example, I did not know what toi-toi is and I had to google the difference between English, Afrikaaners and Boers, although later the author did a good job of explaining it. The white administrators of the University did a lousy job of creating a climate of racial acceptance. They allowed overt racism to prevail in the residence halls and did not enforce any punishment for violent racist actions, like throwing rocks at black students. However, it seems that students who traveled abroad gained a much better appreciation of cultural differences. Well that is a given. People who never traveled far from the little town where I grew up are much more narrow minded and prejudiced than people who have traveled afar. I also realized that even though the US has its serious problems regarding race, especially where law enforcement is concerned, we are quite a bit ahead of where the white people in South Africa are. But apartheid ended only a generation ago and as the author pointed out, young people born post apartheid are much more likely to embrace diversity than their parents are. A good book for those interested in race relations, South Africa, and creating a culture that appreciates diversity.

[Megan Doney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going to this university for my sabbatical this year (University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, ZA) and so this was a great book for me to read in advance. I had known about some of the racist incidents in the residence halls and this book gave a good historical background of the role those houses have played in the history of the university, as well as how difficult is truly is to open dialogue when years of segregation are between you.

[Dana Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Donna Bryson's writing is
impressive and she presents a very insightful perspective of the racial situation that still exists in South Africa. I would recommend this book for the classroom as well as for book clubs.