Atlanta - Coming Full Circle

On to the final city of this crazy whirlwind civil rights road trip!  In Atlanta, it felt as if I'd come full circle - from the place where Dr. Martin Luther King died, to the place where he was born, and the life of the leader of an incredible movement began.  In Atlanta, I saw Dr. King's childhood home and neighborhood, visited his crypt, and spent a morning at the Center for Civil and Human Rights in Pemberton Place.

The neighborhood where Dr. King was born and once lived is known as Sweet Auburn.  All along Auburn avenue, homes, churches, businesses and clubs once formed a lively and thriving black community.  Among the history alive on Auburn avenue stands Ebenezer Baptist, the church where "Daddy" King pastored, and where Dr. King and his father shared a pulpit for many years.  Not far away is the firehouse where a young MLK used to watch fire trucks speed away, decades before Atlanta would employ black firefighters.  Walking just one more block brought me to the home where Dr. King was born and spent his growing up years.  Here, I toured the home with a small group of visitors, led by a US National Park Ranger.  I was once again reminded that this incredible leader was once just a brilliant yet mischievous child, avoiding doing the dishes at all costs, and sharing the messiest room in the house with his brother A.D.  The King home is lovely, built near the end of the 19th century and restored to look as it did in the days that they lived there.  Imagine well worn wood floors, high ceilings, and a dining room table where the family shared meals, bible verses, and discussions on the injustices of 20th century America.  It was a neat experience to be there.

Not more than a few blocks away is a center founded by Coretta Scott King in Dr. King's honor, and the reflecting pool where their crypts stand as monuments to incredible lives well lived.  Standing in the courtyard, I gazed at the eternal flame commemorating Dr. King's life and his commitment in eternal truth, and heard his voice booming over speakers.  Dr. King's voice inspired me as I thought about all that he, and the movement he headed, accomplished.  

Along with exploring Sweet Auburn, I spent time some of my time in Atlanta at the brand new Center for Civil and Human Rights in Pemberton Place.  This is an impressive center housing a exhibit of many of Dr. King's personal artifacts, along with two exceptional galleries - one tracing the Civil Rights Movement, the other exploring current human rights issues around the world.

The gallery on the Civil Rights movement was wonderful.  The movement was well summarized and represented, and shared in meaningful, emotional ways.  In one room, while watching Dr. King's speech at the March on Washington, visitors can grab a Kleenex from a nearby box if they are moved to tears (and many, many are!)  I sat near a woman who had been at the March, sharing with those around her that "that was exactly what he said!"  While watching the footage of Dr. King's funeral in a later gallery, I was moved hearing pieces of his "Mountaintop" speech and the directions he shared during a speech for what he would hoped to be said about him when his day came.  An elderly woman sat in tears near me as we watched the funeral processional on a screen.  She kept shaking her head an lamenting, "He didn't do nothing wrong....and they just went and killed him....He didn't do nothing wrong."  And, in the room where the lunch counter sit ins are explained, I took a turn sitting at a replica lunch counter, headphones pumping hate filled jeers into my ears and my stool shaking with kicks, as the gallery simulated what it felt like to demonstrate nonviolence in a room filled with hate.  Each of these experiences added new, personal dimensions to the movement, and the courage of everyone who played a role in it.  

Moving up a floor, it was poignant to transition from the American Civil Rights movement to other human rights struggles from the past through modern day, from those on American soil to those fought in the global community.  In this gallery, a stark image of oppressors (Hitler, Stalin, and Idi Amin, among others) faces incredible portraits of legendary defenders of human rights - Eleanor Roosevelt, Ghandi, King, Mandela, and others.  This gallery was a fantastic way to bring the themes of the civil rights movement into the future, reminding everyone who sets foot there that the struggle is not over, that advocacy is still needed, that we all have a role to play to ensure justice in the world around us.  

On the first floor of the Center, I was able to see items displayed from Dr. King's personal life - notes, writings, and personal items.  (How cool to see his handwritten notes on the eulogy for the four little girls who died in the 16th Street Baptist Bombing, or the notecards from his dissertation, or even his bottle of toothpaste!)  On the wall were quotes from his writings, speeches, and sermons.  Although I knew this already, I have been again impressed this trip at the beautiful and brilliant speaking and writing style of Dr. King.  This man's vocabulary was endless and his rhetoric was unmatchable.  It feels as if everything he said is quotable!  Here were a few that jumped out to me from the walls of the gallery as I thought about transitioning from my fellowship learning experiences to the school year ahead:

• "I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."

• "Make a career of humanity.  Commit yourself to the noble struggle of equal rights.  You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."

• "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.  Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

This final quote brings together the entire experience of the learning journey I have been on throughout my fellowship.  Desmond Tutu said that our humanities are bound together, that we can only be human through one another.  The African ideal of Ubuntu emphasizes that a person is a person through other people.  When we see others in our world as "less than," when we fail to act as activists for equality and dignity, we discount the incredible courage of leaders like Dr. King and Nelson Mandela - two of the incredible leaders in whose footsteps I have had the privilege to walk in this summer.  

These experiences leave me inspired and challenged to bring justice to my classroom, my neighborhood, and my world.  I am entering a new school year with renewed passion to engage in dialogue, embrace the responsibility of advocacy, and have the courage and commitment to play my own role in the fight for equity in my school, city, country, and world.

What a journey this has been!  I will keep posting as I finish my fellowship reports draw conclusions and reflections from this experience, and hopefully as I implement the ripples of this experience in my classroom, school, and community.

In the mean time, thank you for being a part of the journey!

~emily~

Steamy Montgomery!

Today I've been exploring the city of Montgomery, and sweating along the way! :-)  It is steamy here in the Deep South!

Montgomery has been an awesome place from which to explore the history of the momentous events that took place there during the 1950's and 1960's.  I have been amazed and inspired by what I've seen over the last couple of days.

I started my visit to Montgomery with a visit to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Church.  This historic church stands in the shadow of the Capitol of the Confederacy (think on the significance of that for a minute).  A warm woman named Wanda met us for our tour, learning a bit about each of us and graciously welcoming us to this still functioning historic church.  We watched a video on the history of the church, history of Dr. King's involvement there, and its importance in the movement.  In the basement of the church is an incredible mural that traces much of the history and players in the Civil Rights Movement.  Wanda walked us through each part of the mural, and I was thankful to have been able to once again connect this history with the windows I've been given at the museums over the last few days.  Upstairs, visitors can sit in the pews original to the church, and gaze at the pulpit from which Dr. King preached.  Wanda inspired us with her ability continue to spread the messages of the movement, encouraging each of us to realize what brought us here and do what we can to keep making this world a better place.  It was really lovely!

From here, we walked to the Dexter Parsonage, where many Dexter pastors lived throughout the years, including Vernon Johns and Dr. King.  The house has been restored through the gifts and memories of church members to look as close as possible to how it did while the King family lived there.  There is even much of the original furniture, kitchenware, and household items from the King family's time in the home.  Walking through this place, one feels like they are on sacred ground.

A dent in the porch of the parsonage shows the only remaining damage of the bomb that was thrown there while Mrs. King and the baby Yolanda were home.  It was from this porch that Dr. King urged the angry crowd that gathered after the bombing to return peacefully to their home.  It was on this phone that racist threats were made against the lives of Dr. King and his family.  It was in this study that neighbors and passersby heard jazz records playing and saw the light from Dr. King's desk lamp as he worked late into the light.  And, it was in this kitchen that Dr. King had his famous epiphany, hearing God's voice urge him to stand for truth and righteousness, continue the work of the movement, and rest in the faith that God would not leave him alone.  Being in his home and hearing about what brought him to Montgomery, you really realize that Dr. King was, in the beginning, just a pastor who had come to lead a church.  A newlywed to a beautiful young wife, a brand new father of a little girl, pastoring in his first and only full time pastoral role, his commitment to this movement, with no certainty of where it would go or what it might mean for himself and his family, is astounding.

From the parsonage, we made our way to the Capital building, passing by the First White House of the Confederacy on the way.  The confederate flag still flies here, which was a bit jarring for me to see.  As I walked into the capital, I felt like I was walking into the world of Gone with the Wind!  On a self guided walking tour of the capital, you can see the chambers where during reconstruction, many black politicians served and where, years earlier, the men of the confederacy met.  While standing on the steps of the capitol and Dr. King's home and church felt like sacred ground, standing in the capital gave me a sense of eerie discomfort.  I was ready to head back out into the hot Montgomery sun! (And man!  It was hot!!!)

Standing on the steps of the Capital building, visitors can stand in the footsteps of the marchers from Selma to Montgomery, look down Dexter avenue, past the church where Dr. King preached and many meetings took place, and to a fountain that marks the spot where slaves were once bought and sold.  It's both sobering and inspiring to imagine all the things they could say if these streets could talk.

Nearby, a Civil Rights Monument stands in front of the Southern Poverty Law Center.  It's a beautiful monument, a circular black marble fountain with water running over the names of many of the movement's martyrs.  Behind the fountain is a wall with Dr. King's quote from the bible - Until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.  It's beautiful to trace your way around the monument, reflect, and be inspired by the sacrifices made here.

 The last thing I did before leaving Montgomery was visit the Rosa Parks museum at Troy University.  This was another exceptional experience!  Before heading into the main area, I got to take in the artwork of Robert Claibourne Morris in a work entitled "Slavery by Another Name."  It was a beautiful collection that showed the way that even though formal slavery of African Americans may have ended with the emancipation proclamation, informal slavery went on and on.  Powerful imagery!

Then, on to the main exhibit, featuring Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott.  Here, a guide walked us through a retelling and video re-enactment of what happened the day in 1955 when Ms. Parks refused to give up her seat, and the 13 month bus boycott that followed.  I was most amazed by the incredible organization of the black community, the power of grassroots organizing, and the incredible spirit and dignity of Rosa Parks.

According the museum, while black communities had many of their own separate living experiences in the south, they had to ride the buses along with whites.  This led to what many described as the most humiliating form of segregation in the South.  Black bus riders had to not only pay their fare in the front of the bus and move to the back, but actually had to leave the bus to use the back entrance.  Sometimes bus drivers would pull away as soon as they had paid, leaving them out of a ride and the fare they had paid for it.  If they made it on, they would still have to give up their seats to any white man, woman, or child who asked for it.  Not only that, but the lack of courtesy shown by drivers and fellow riders was continually degrading.  Black riders were never referred to as "Sir" or "Ma'am," but as boy, girl, gal or worse.  It is no wonder that this became one of the first fights of the movement.  I was interested to learn that legally, Rosa Parks should not have had to give up her seat.  Yet, she was tried and found guilty, the law thus contradicting itself in this case.  Additionally, it was interesting that the bus boycott did not originally set out to end segregation.  Their demands were only 1) courteous treatment by drivers, 2) first come first serve seating (white from the front, black from the back), and 3) the hiring of black bus drivers for black areas of city.  Yet, as the struggle wore on, it became clear that these goals could be the grounds for an even greater fight for justice - bus desegregation. After 89 arrest warrants came for those involved in the boycott, those 89 leaders dressed in their Sunday best and marched themselves down to the station.  In this way, not only did they demonstrate non-violent direct action, but they claimed their own dignity, putting themselves in the role of protestors and activists, not victims.

Dignity is a theme that has appeared again and again through my summer travels and learning experiences, and my insights at the Rosa Parks museum was no exeption.  I have been reminded again and again that attacking a person's dignity is one of the most certain ways to hurt the spirit.  Whether in the cells of Robben Island, in the pages of "Unbroken" in the POW camps of WWII, or on the bus seats of the Montgomery public transportation system, a person who can maintain and affirm their dignity is a person who can be resilient in the face of incredible circumstances.

Once again, it was so powerful to be in the streets where such incredible events took place.  I am so enjoying this experience of looking back, seeking understanding, in order to move forward into my role as a teacher of diverse students.

Now - to Atlanta, the fourth city and Georgia, the fifth state of this amazing journey!

~emily~

Exploring Birmingham

Today we had the opportunity to explore the city of Birmingham, known as the most segregated city in the South, and once known as "Bombingham" because of the high numbers of race related bombings.  While in Birmingham, I had the chance to visit the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, and the 16th Street Baptist Church.  I also shared ice cream with an inner city middle school teacher from the Birmingham city district was given tons of qualitative education insight on life and learning here, 50-60 years after the Civil Rights Movement.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) was a unique museum experience that walked visitors through time periods before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement.  I gained a lot of knowledge specifically about Birmingham's involvement in the movement, as well as its leaders like Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.  I was struck by the way that Birmingham really signaled a change in the movement, and the way that the media coverage of the intense brutality helped create a tide of positive pressure from around the country and around the globe.  Kennedy's Civil Rights Act followed shortly the events in Birmingham.  This is yet another significant place, both a haunting reminder of humanity's ability to be cruel, and a triumphant reminder of humanity's ability to rise above, to forgive, to be courageous and enact change.

On the second floor of the museum, one can look across to the 16th St. Baptist Church, where four little girls were killed in a KKK bombing while getting ready for church on Sunday morning.

Out the windows on another side of the building, Kelly Ingram park fills the view.  It was here that thousands of children and young people were involved in the Children's Crusade - marching for their rights, and subsequently, filling the jails.  At one point, 10 children were arrested every minute, and the police had to use school buses to cart away all of the children.  Can you imagine the bravery of the young people (some as young as six!), and the parents of these children?  It is powerful!  It is also in this park that public safety commissioner "Bull" Connors set police dogs and fire hoses on the peacefully protesting young people.

Today, the park is filled with statues and monuments to the movement.  One particularly vivid piece of art has metal dogs "jumping" out at visitors as they walk a path through the center of the artwork.  While we visited, a child and her mother were also working their way through the park.  The mother walked through the channel between the dogs, but the little girl stayed behind, afraid.  When her mother called her to come, she quickly ran through - clearly terrified.  This image will stick with me for a long time - I can only imagine how much more terrifying the real thing must have been, yet I'm awed by the young people who faced it.  As in South Africa, I am amazed by the power of people both young and old!

It was also in Birmingham were Dr. King wrote his famous "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," in response to the clergy who wrote in the local newspaper that King's actions were unwise and poorly timed.  This is a powerful response, and I loved the experience of having this letter read as I stood outside of a jail cell replica in the museum.  If you haven't read this powerful letter, check it out here.

The start of the BCRI museum, visitors walk through a well done gallery showing the lives of black communities before the civil rights movement.  Though very separate, and inherently less privileged, the gallery showed bits of life in the tight knit black communities of the South.  The gallery ends with  a quote on the wall, explaining how separate never can be equal - as the Brown v. Board of Education case proved in 1954 .  This really struck me as I spoke with the Birmingham teacher who I had the chance to meet with in the afternoon.  Though legalized school segregation was struck down sixty years ago, segregation is still alive and well in Birmingham schools.  Because of neighborhood zoning and the creation of mini districts suburban neighborhoods, schools are hardly integrated.  The teacher with whom I spoke teaches in school made up of almost entirely African American students, with 100% receiving free and reduced lunch, while "over the mountain," diverse schools with higher populations of white and international students are nestled into suburban neighborhoods.  This teacher shared of the many struggles facing the urban school system in Birmingham, from higher class sizes, to inadequate housing, from families with barriers to being involved in school to kids who have many more responsibilities outside of school than their counterparts in suburban areas.  Although she said there is no shortage of "stuff," (technology, furniture, etc), she feels that there is a lack of community involvement.  Though many her students are the grandchildren of the Children's Crusade marchers, this teacher feels that something has been lost in the time since the Civil Rights movement, and many of the teachers at her school actually feel that issues in education may be in poorer shape now than ever.  Clearly, there are many, many struggles that young children in the city of Birmingham still face.

I finished the day with some classic southern BBQ, and I think my hair still smells like ribs! :-)  Although this vegetarian settled on a baked potato the size of my head, those I ate with savored the finger licking good sauces and meats!  Then, off to Montgomery and the next stop on this pilgrimage!

~emily~

Walking in Memphis

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Birmingham, listening to a Blues station on Pandora, and reflecting on the day I've had.  Wow - what a day!  I'm less than 36 hours into my trip and have already learned and experienced so much!!!

I spent a good part of the day at the National Civil Rights Museum.  The Lorraine Hotel, the place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, has been remodeled into this incredible museum that traces the history of the civil rights movement from slavery to modern civil rights issues.  It easily ranks as one of the best museum experiences I have ever had - incredibly well laid out, incredibly engaging, incredibly powerful!  My research had led me to believe I could experience the museum in about 2 hours, but 4.5 hours later we were still deep in the history of it all!  There was just so much to see!

One of my favorite things about the museum was the way they integrated photos, music, videos, statues, artifacts, and signage.  It was all put together in such a fluid, multidimensional way.  I've truly never seen anything like it.  You could walk through a passage accompanied by the sound of Dr. Kings voice, sit next to a statue of Rosa Parks on a bus as a voice roughly urged you to give up your seat, walk across a structure made to look like the Edmund Pettis bridge, or sing along with a freedom song.  Their were quotes, pictures, voices, stories - a legacy told with the honor it deserves.  It is both horrific and inspiring, troubling and victorious.

The musuem wound its way through the first and second floor of what was once the hotel, eventually making its way into the rooms where Dr. King and his colleagues spent the final hours of his life.  There is also a section in the boarding house across the street, where the shot that took Dr. King's life was fired through a second floor bathroom window.  One can stand in the window and see the balcony where Dr. King was hit.  The reality and gravity of what happened here is overwhelming.  In the building next door, a small exhibit celebrated the lives of 20 African American women, and their influence on civil rights.  This was also very fascinating and inspiring.

Some of my biggest takeaways from the museum experience:

• The discrepancy between historic laws and actual freedoms experienced (Did you know that there was  a voting rights act for African American men in 1870?!)
• The incredible courage of people young and old, wealthy and poor, and the power of grassroots organizing!
• The issues stemming from the Civil War - Issues of states rights, reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, etc.
• The awe inspiring individuals who carried the movement forward, risking everything!
• Nonvoilence
• The power of music - singing in the jails, freedom songs, etc
• One quote in the museum said that the "movement without music would have been like a bird without wings."
• The frighteningly prevalent terrorism and racism by white Americans.
• Parallels with South Africa:
• Birmigham's creation through steel, Johannesburg's creation through gold
• MLK's letter from a Birmingham Jail, Mandela's writings from Robben Island
• Not only voilence, but oppression through denying dignity
• A willingess to sacrifice, die if necessary, for the ideals for which people were fighting
• The power of youth!

I have pages in my notebook filled with people, legal battles, and moments I want to further research, but that's a start to my reflections on my experience at the National Civil Rights museum

In the afternoon, I had the chance to meet with a local educator and talk shop about race and education, comparing the systems and communities where we work and live and sharing about our experiences.  We had a great visit, through once again I'm struck by how complicated these issues are.  I was so thankful for her honesty and willingness to share with me her anecdotal experiences in the Memphis area schools.

At the end of the day, off we headed for Birmingham!  I was struck by the rural areas we drove through - we could go miles and miles without seeing anything but trees!  We also battled a crazy thunderstorm, had a humorously strange encounter at a Subway ($2 veggie subs!), and shared great conversations and reflections on our drive.  Day one and my mind is already racing with what I've seen, learned, felt, and experienced!

Tomorrow I'll be exploring Birmingham!  I'll keep you posted! :-)

~emily~

Welcome to Memphis

Hi Everyone!

I am beyond excited to be embarking on an incredible extension to my Fund for Teachers experience!  Over the next six days, I'll be working my way through four cities in the American South - Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta - retracing the footsteps of the American Civil Rights Movement and exploring what connections can be made between experiences in the Southern US and my learnings about race, equity, reconciliation , and education in South Africa.  I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to connect the windows of understanding I've been given between South Africa, the American South, and my own past and future experiences in the Twin Cities.

Yesterday I landed in Memphis, TN! After many delays, frantic runs through airports, and hangry moments, I'm here!  Today I'll be visiting the Lorraine Motel, where the site of Dr. Martin Luther King's assassination has been turned into a monument for peace and education, the National Civil Rights museum.  I'll also have the chance this afternoon to meet with a teacher who has worked in both inner city Memphis, and the surrounding areas.  Then, tonight, I'll travel on to Birmingham!

Another adventure - here I come!

~emily~

Pictures

Hey there!

Well, after a month at home I finally have sorted through my 1300 pictures to share about 100 with you!

Check out my flickr album using this link!

Just a few weeks until I head south for part 2 of this amazing experience!  I'll share more as I embark on that experience starting August 17!

~emily~

I'm heading South!

I've been home for a couple weeks now, but thoughts of South Africa, questions lingering, and the significance of all I've learned and experienced are never far from the forefront of my mind.  I'm in the midst of sorting through my photos and will share some here (hopefully) soon!  I'm also working on my post

But....it's not over yet!  After making the final tally of my receipts from South Africa, I had a rather large sum of money remaining from my original grant.  I submitted a secondary proposal to Fund for Teachers to use the remaining money to explore a trip within the US that mirrored the education and social justice experiences I had in South Africa.  So...I am excited to share that in August, I will be extending this trip and my learning with a visit to the Southern US!  I'll be spending seven days between Memphis, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Atlanta.  I have a route planned through many of the US civil rights sights, and am working to make connections with educators and community members along the way.  I hope to see how communities in the US significantly impacted by segregation and injustice are working to engage and educate students, and compare it what what I learned in South Africa, and what I have seen through my own experiences in a diverse school.  I'm extremely excited to compare my learnings in South Africa with those in the South, and bring all of these new experiences and learnings back to my classroom in Minnesota.

Tonight I started re-watching the PBS documentary "Eyes on the Prize" - doing a little refreshing of my own knowledge of the civil rights movement in the US.  It's incredibly powerful, and also haunting, to see a world so similar to what I saw in South Africa, and realize really how close we still are to this troubled past.  I hope to have finished the majority of the series before I head South, and am excited to have that foundation on which to build knowledge and share in conversations.

I plan to continue daily blogging during this extension of my trip, so check back in August to see what I'm up to then!  I can't wait!

More to come....

~emily~
  

Day #15: Savoring the moments

Today was my last full day in the Cape Town area.  I spent it trying to soak in everything around me! I walked for hours, wrote, read, reflected....It's been a perfect end to a pretty amazing trip.

I have so many thoughts and ideas rolling around - by the time I get home I will have had 20 days of travel filled with so many new experiences, questions answered, more questions raised, beautiful places, hard histories, inspiring triumphs!  In the coming days I'll try to put it all into a somewhat conclusive reflection on what I've learn and seen here, and how it will influence me personally and through my teaching in the time to come.  For now, though, I'm just savoring...

Tomorrow I'll fly from Cape Town to back to the city of gold, and ultimately on to Atlanta.  I plan to have a day there to explore America's civil rights movement, and begin connecting the histories and experiences I've had here with the world a bit closer to home.  Then, back to fabulous MN!  I hear it's swelteringly lovely this time of year!!! :)

Though the sun is setting on this part of this amazing experience, my learning is ongoing.  I look forward to sharing my reflections and ongoing insights in the days to come!

~emily~

Day #14: Teacher Talk

I've had the chance over the last couple of days to engage in conversation with two incredible educators here in South Africa.  Last night we shared dinner with Wayne, the president of a local college, and today I got to meet Marion, a former teacher who now works in evaluation programs here in South Africa.  I again learned and so much from sharing in these conversations!  Here are some of the insights that I gained:

• South Africa has been through major curriculum revisions since its change in government in 1994.  As each of the different provinces and different racial groups (Black, Coloured, Indian, and White) merged their education departments, they also merged their curriculums.  It was important to unify the curriculum both to have a more universal system for education across the country, but also to provide equity for all students.  During the Apartheid years, the quality of education drastically declined as you worked your way down the race hierarchy - white - indian - coloured - black.  Black education was essentially an education for the working class, emphasizing the importance of not trying to "rise above one's station".)  Yet, as so many education systems do, SA has tried a variety of different curriculums (more than 5 in the last 20 years), with some having far greater success than others and many teachers frustrated with the frequent changes and overwhelming amount of content.  At this point, SA implements a very prescriptive, knowledge based curriculum.  South Africa struggles to answer the question of what it means to create equal opportunities for all students, and hold everyone to high standards.
• With all of the changes, students have not necessarily thrived.  South Africa is among the lowest performing countries on tests like TIMSS and PIRLS, and national math proficiency is only around 17%.   Though low performance tends to go across the board, there are still breakdowns by class and race.  Furthermore, despite legal opportunity for any child to attend any school, cost often creates two parallel education systems where the higher quality education is still predominantly, though not exclusively, white.
• Issues shared by Marion and Wayne facing South African education today include poor teacher training, varying degrees of early childhood education (some children, specifically from the townships, arrive at school having never held a book or a pen), and the high cost of education.  Good quality education is still not accessible to everyone.  Even for those who attend school, many drop out along the way, and of those who graduate from high school, only 50% can expect to find jobs.  Another issue is a strong teachers union that can sometimes hinder educational progress.  Marion shared some examples - officials are not allowed to observe in classrooms, there has been strong resistance to performance pay, and teachers fought having to demonstrate their qualifications by taking the exact same tests that their students take.
• As far as tertiary education goes, black students are still underrepresented in Universities.  Although admission policies exist to help disadvantaged students get into college, there are significant barriers that keep many black children from attending university.  (In a country where over 80% of the population is black, less than 20% of university students are black).  Once kids get into college, their success varies.  Wayne shared that a study done in South Africa tried to consider what factors - class, race, parent education level, etc. - had the greatest predictors of college success.  The findings?  The students were proportionally more successful based on the number of books that were in their home.
•   Interestingly, the University of Cape Town has recently amended their admission policies in this respect.  Although they are receiving some criticism for this change, they are sticking to their decision.  Where previously student admission "points" were given based on a strictly  racial quota, now there are different qualifiers for what it means to be "disadvantaged."  Some of these qualities include income level, parent education level, and race.  Marion described this as a way to equalize the complexities that contribute to what it means to need a little extra leg up.
• Through all that SA has been through, many people are very comfortable talking about race- in and out of the classroom.  Marion shared stories of having to be careful when she travels to other countries, reminding herself that not everyone around the world is so open to race conversations.  Wayne shared that in the years he has been in SA since Apartheid, he has seen widespread conversations, even joking, about race.  Marion acknowledged that "the minute you avoid taking about race, you deny the society that we live in."  Marion encouraged like the US to validate each student's language and culture, recognize the culture of power that exists, and create an openness to discussing race issues both in and outside of schools.

While these conversations have certainly not given me any answers to the questions I've set out to explore here in South Africa, they have given me many insights into the world of education here.  I wonder if the reconciliation taking place in many aspects of society here in SA has not found its way into the schools yet.  It's very interesting to have learned so much about the backdrop of society here, and then focus into the schools and educators who train the future leaders of South Africa.  I think that the issues that face SA, much like those facing the US, are deeply layered and complex.  Yet, I think there are lessons to be learned from each other, and I think that starting these conversations creates opportunity for digging into those lessons.

~emily~

Day #13: Robben Island

Today I took the sobering trip to Robben Island and the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept.  Ferries launch every couple of hours throughout the day, and visitors are taken over the bay to the island, then given a bus tour of parts of the island, and a walking tour of the prison by an ex political prisoner.  It was a fascinating day!

Our trip across Table Bay was rocky, and I don't even think it was a rough day.  The boat pitched and rolled, people all around us got sick, and I found myself thinking what it would have felt like to make that trip as a prisoner - not sure when or if I would ever set foot on the mainland again.  Table Mountain stands over you throughout the journey - those on the island would describe it as a symbol of hope as they looked across the bay.  After about 45 minutes, we arrived.

During the bus tour we learned that Robben Island had been used as a place of isolation for lepers, orphans, the blind, and other societal outcasts of the time even before it became home to the prisons.  It was later used during World War II, and most famously became the home of Nelson Mandela during the majority of his 27 years of imprisonment.  The island is actually quite large, though we only saw a small portion of it.  We saw the homes and schools of the wardens and their families who lived on the island, the different prisons, a church, and the infamous lime quarries.  Our guide told us that the new South African constitution was born out of the lime quarries, through the conversations of those imprisoned there.  A large pile of stones sits at the entrance to the quarry where, at a reunion of the political prisoners, Nelson Mandela took a stone from the quarry and set it down - saying it served as a monument to the triumph of the human spirit.  The others there also did the same - and the pile of stones stands today to testify to that incredible resiliency.

When we arrived at the maximum security prison, we were shown the place by a kind faced man named Ntando Mbatha, who also served a prison sentence at Robben Island for his activism during the apartheid years.  He showed us the office where prisoners lost their identity and were reduced to a number - Mandela's was 466-64, (called four-triple six-four) meaning he was the 466th political prisoner to arrive during the year 1964.

We saw the censorship office where both incoming and outgoing letters were literally censored with scissors for anything that might be seen as political.  Sometimes prisoners or family members received letters with only the salutation and the signature remaining.  Mr. Mbatha showed us the library and told of the motto "each one teach one" - whereby prisoners committed themselves to educating one another and sharing in dialogue and discussion to keep the movement going even from behind bars.  We saw the prison yard, where sentries were armed with guns and the order "shoot and shoot to kill" and two layers of incredibly tall fences had snarling dogs in between to keep the prisoners away.  Even if a prisoner managed to get through that, only the ocean lay in front of them.  No one ever escaped...

We learned that political prisoners had no chance for parole - their sentence required them to serve their entire term in prison.  While Robben Island was only home to black and coloured male prisoners, many other activists were sentenced and imprisoned through other parts of the country, and many others died in the struggle and never even made it to their trial or to jail.  The prisoners on Robben Island faced torture, isolation, poor health, and extremely uncomfortable living conditions.  They lost not only their freedom, but also their dignity.  What Mr. Mbata shared reminded me of a quote from a book I've been reading on this trip.  "Without dignity, identity is erased.  In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live...Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen.  The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man's soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it.  The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty." ~Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand.  Amazingly, the men of Robben Island were able to maintain their dignity not only to survive, but to thrive for themselves and create an incredible new country.

As we neared the end of the tour, we saw the courtyard of Block B where a famous propaganda picture was taken (above), and where Mandela tended a garden in which he buried a copy of "Long Walk to Freedom."  It was found by guards and Mandela was punished, but fortunately it was the second copy Mandela had written.  The first copy had already made it out.  We ended our tour at the cell where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years before being moved to other locations until he was finally released in 1994.



While it is sobering to see a place where so much hope could have been lost, and so much bitterness fostered, Robben Island is instead an incredible monument to forgiveness and reconciliation.  Mr. Mbatha shared that despite the suffering the prisoners endured, they never talked of their suffering and they bear no hatred.  instead, they worked to move forward in a spirit of peace.  Robben Island now stands as a reminder of what was, and an urgent monument to what should never happen again.

We headed out on our return trip to the V&A Waterfront, our minds full of all we had seen.  While sitting and staring at the bay in front of us, we were surprised to see seals swimming along side the boat.  Then, there was a puff of air out of the water, and we realized that we were traveling beside 5 whales!!!  It was incredible to watch their backs and their tales glide through the water - a further symbol of beauty even in the midst of the pain that has been experienced here.

Tonight we'll be sharing dinner with the president of a local college in Cape Town, and I'm really looking forward to getting to chat education with him and his family.  I'm so thankful for the depth and fullness of this experience as I come towards the end of my time here!

~emily~

Day #12: From Constitutions to Conversations

Today I'm feeling a little bit of information overload, but it's been another great day of learning here in Cape Town!  So much rolling around in my head tonight, but I'll try to connect it all into something to share!

After breakfast, we headed on a train and up the coast to Cape Town's city center.  We found our way to South Africa's parliament building (after multiple tries and being sent to multiple different doors), where we joined 5 others on a tour.  2 of the others on the tour were South African, two were visiting from the U.K., and one was an American Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho!  So fun to compare stories from our service!

The tour was led by a South African law student and was very interesting and informative.  In many ways, I can see the influences of British systems on both SA's and the US's current governement.  Like the US, SA has a bicameral parliament system, as well as three branches of governement.  The two branches of SA's legislative branch are the National House of Provinces and the National Assembly.  Where the legislative branch once had supreme authority, the new Republic of South Africa has given its new constitution supreme authority.

The National House of Provinces is made up of 10 delegates from each of the 9 provinces, and delegates vote in a block for the wishes of their province.  The National Assembly is made up of representatives from the parties that make up the multiparty government, with seats given proportionally by the vote.  (In the last election, the current party in power, the ANC, got 62% of the seats.)  Representatives from different parties sit across from eachother, with the Speaker at the front of the group.  In all houses the public is welcome to obtain a free ticket and observe the congress in action, and proceedings can take place in any of the country's 11 official languages.  Translators sit at the ready to keep the dialogue moving and record the proceedings in all of the languages.

We also had the chance to sit in the old National Assembly building.  Because it is no longer used for official parliament business, we were able to sit in the chairs on the floor.  For a brief period of SA's history, there was a tricameral legislature, made up of some of the different racial groups: Whites, Indians, and Coloureds.  Black South Africans were excluded all together.  It was in this building that one of those groups met.  Interestingly, this section of parliament was built as closely as possible to England's House of Commons.  (The Brits in the group said it looked just like it!)  It was in this room that the majority of Apartheid laws were passed, as well as the site of the only assassination of a prime minister.  One of the other visitors asked why they keep this building - a place where so many awful Apartheid laws were allowed to make South Africa into the place it had become.  (Remember, since at that time parliament had supreme authority, any law that followed proper procedure could be passed - no checks and balances...)  Our tour guide had a great answer.  He said that you can't just wipe out history.  It's important to remember what happened here, to be sure that it never happens again.  So, the house still stands as a reminder for what SA once was, and what it should never be again.

In 1994, everything changed for SA. The New Democratic Republic of South Africa was born.  The new constitution became supreme, the law changed - adopting traits from Dutch, British, American, Indigenous, and International law.  All of the old pictures were taken down, and African tapestries were hung on the wall instead.  The official symbolic tools, the gold mace and the black rod, were redesigned to reflect the new SA and everyone's part in it.  It became a democracy built on the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation.

So - a very interesting look at the governemental side of things here in South Africa.

From there, we caught a train and headed just out of the city to visit with a college professor named Peter, the head of the education department at the school.  Since the timing of my trip coincided poorly with the school term, it wasn't possible for me to visit any.  But, I've been able to see many from the outside, and talking with this knowledgeable professor of education was the next best thing!

This conversation brought yet another snapshot into the experience of another South African - this time with an added focus on the education side of things that I'm so interested in.  We talked for hours, but I'll try to share objectively on some of my biggest insights:

• Peter attended a segregated school, growing up in the Western Cape.  He described that the white school was on one side of a valley, the black/coloured school was on the other, and "never the two shall meet."  He finished his schooling in 1983.
• In the segregated schools, the quality of education in the white schools was far superior to the education received in black or coloured schools.
• Peter referenced the uprisings in Soweto, 1976 as a pivotal point in education in SA.  At the time, he as teaching in a segregated school.  For him, this was the beginning of many changes to come.
• In 1992, schools became open to all races.  Peter described this as intentional desegregation.  When pushed further, he said this usually meant that black or coloured students would "cross the road" and join the white schools.  It rarely went the other way around.  Additionally, it was often only the upper class black or coloured students who would be able to afford the fees needed to actually switch schools.  (Even government/public schools in South Africa require uniforms and text books to be purchased and school fees to be paid)  Peter also shared the pattern than often followed "desegregation": the students of color would come to the school, and it would be multiracial only briefly, until the white families left the school, and moved on to a more white school.  In this way, many of the schools that used to be "white" have few white students left in them.  What was supposed to bring everyone together, just shifted everyone one school "up the ladder"
• This observation was also shared by the teacher I talked with during my visit to the Slave Lodge musuem
• In 1994, with the new government, everything changed.  Education policy was "passed around like a football," and the curriculum underwent major revision.  Whereas formally, each province would set their own curriculum (differening not only by province but also by race group), now there was a push for a more universal curriculum shared by the entire country - the same for all children regardless of race.  Peter feels that this has generally lowered the quality of education across the countries (the score required to graduate on the national exam is only 30%), and now many private schools are being created to teach a "more rigorous" (and expensive) curriculum.  So, a divide still exists...As in America, wealth gives access to resources - plain and simple.
• The post apartheid years also brought about painful changes for Peter.  As schools were combined, losing their unique identities but becoming more open to all, staffing ratios intended to diversify the teachign staff left Peter (a white male) without a job.  He dealt with unemployment three different times during that period, finding it nearly impossible to find or keep a job based on his race.  He speaks without biterness about this, but acknowledges the difficulty it brought to him and his family.
• Peter shared that today, there is a direct line between wealth (which, in SA, also breaks down along racial lines) and success in school.  The more expensive the school, the better resources, the better perform the students.  While good education is now legally open to all, the realities of what one can pay and how one gets admitted still excludes many people from an ability to access quality education.
• I also learned some disheartening statistics from Peter - of the 1 million South African children in the system each year, only half make it from kindergarten all the way through grade 12.  Of those, only 67% pass the graduation exam nation wide.  Although school is compulsory until age 15, millions of kids leave school long before that.
• Peter has a lot of hope for the younger generations, known here as "born-frees" because they have not lived under the Apartheid system.  He feels that they are the most open when it comes to race issues, and it will be them who will bring even more change to SA.
• When I asked Peter to speak from his experience in SA and share advice for America's educational system, he emphasized learning from the example set here.  He emphasized the importance of reaching out to families and teaching students the values of diversity at a young age.  He shared that when jobs must restructure, people must move on.  He said that everyone benefits personally from a more open society.

So - lots to think about and absorb.  I have lots of thoughts about what I learned and how I percieve the information I've gathered, but I'll just save those for another night.

We ended our evening at the home of a college acquaintance, who shared a great meal with us and yet another picture into another life lived here in South Africa.

Tomorrow we'll head to Robben Island, and later spend some time with the president of a local university.  I know I will continue to see new perspectives, have more stories shared, and absorb these experiences.  What a crazy great learning adventure!

~emily~

Day #10 - As South as I can go!

Today we had a little bit of down time, and took the chance to explore more of the beautiful Cape region!

After waking up to a beautiful view of the harbor, we ate breakfast and headed out to explore Boulders Bay and Cape Point.

Boulders Bay is home to a colony of 3,000 African penguins!  It's so fun!  After a near fatal incident with a rock hyrax (just kidding, they are just as nice as they look!) we headed down a boardwalk through the protected area where the penguins can breed.

I found myself peering into the bushy areas, trying to spot penguins.  I got excited at each one I saw - lots of young ones too - and thought that I'd done pretty well for myself at penguin spotting.  Little did I know, there was more to come!  Along the path, the boardwalk opens up to a beach where there are literally dozens and dozens of penguins lounging, sunbathing, waddling around, and jumping into the sea!  It was so fun to watch them!

Then we headed even further south, towards the most south western point of Africa - Cape of Good Hope.  The trip south is filled with spectacular views - there is beauty literally every direction you look!  After arriving at the national park there, we started with a walk up to a lighthouse.

Strangely enough, after its construction it was realized that the lighthouse was actually too high, and could never be used!  What a disappointment!  But - it's a fun walk with amazing views of the ocean in every direction.

Then we took the hour and a half hike to the Cape of Good Hope - the furthest southwest point in Africa.  On the way, we stopped at the breathtakingly beautiful Dias beach and even got to see some surfers out on the waves.

Then, up and down and up again until we reached the Cape of Good Hope.  There were lots of tour buses there (the hike was definitely the less popular option for reaching the Cape!) but we managed to sneak in a picture and enjoy the view a bit!

The Cape coastline in this region is home to surfers, shipwrecks, and even whales in the midst of their migration.  Although its popularly believed to be the spot where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet,this is actually a misperception (that spot is located at Cape Agulhas).  It is however a fabulous place to see - I'm so thankful that it became part of my experience of diving in to South Africa in the midst of this adventure!

After coming across a baboon roadblock, we snacked on a picnic lunch at Buffels Bay.  I think we were both a little petrified of the baboons coming to find us (there are signs everywhere extolling their dangerous nature!), so we ate fast and made a quick escape.  More hyraxes there too, but they are most cute than intimidating! :-)

Another truly incredible day - just immersing myself in the wonder and beauty of this amazing place!

Tonight we'll have an early night in preparation of hiking Table Mountain tomorrow.  I'm super excited to reach the top of this iconic Cape Town mountain!  Let's hope we make it! :-)

~emily~

Day #9: Moving on over!

In my attempt to visit a lot of areas of the Johannesburg and Cape Town region, today we traveled to our final home away from home for the trip - Kalk Bay.  From here, we'll venture into the experiences I have planned for the second week of the trip - hiking Table Mountain, visiting Robben Island, connections with 3 educators and one community activist, and touring parliament.

Kalk Bay is incredible - it's one of the quaint little communities nestled in the coves of the coastline of False Bay.  To get here, we took a breathtaking scenic drive through the vineyards, along the coast, and past the mountains.  This is an incredibly beautiful place!!!

One of my favorite roads we took to get here was the drive by Chapman's Peak.  The mountain overlooks Haut Bay, and we drove along it right as the sun was setting.  It was stunning!!!  (Lots of pictures to come!)  We also had the chance to stop at a local market where community members sold hand made crafts (if only my carryon was larger!)

Now we're settled into a lovely hotel overlooking the sea.  It's beautiful!  We'll fall asleep tonight to the sound of waves crashing on the bay!!!  The train station is literally just across the road, so it will be super easy to navigate our way around exploring over the next week.  The way my schedule and the schedule of those I'm meeting with has worked out, I've packed a few of the days super full with visits and experiences, so tomorrow we have a little down time.  I think we'll head south and visit Cape Point, one of the southernmost spots in Africa.  From what Ryan tells me, we might even get to visit a beach with penguins.  Can't pass up that opportunity!

Thanks for following along!  More updates soon!

~emily~

Days #7 - 8: Reflecting

Friday June 20 & Saturday June 21

I thought I'd open this blog with the view that has greeted me each morning that we've been in the Stellenbosch area.  It is incredible here - we're just a few kilometers out of Stellenbosch but a world away.  It is quiet, serene, peaceful, and beautiful.  I think some of the heaviness of the last week's learning has started to catch up to me a bit, and I feel like this change of location and a little bit of quiet time has been helpful just to reflect, write, and make connections with all that I've taken in since we've been here.

Although I had originally planned this portion of the trip to connect with contacts shared with me as I planned the grant, as so often happens in life and in travel, the universe had other plans for me!  Yet I was still able gain a lot of insight being here (when you keep your eyes open, you can learn everywhere and anywhere!), and also immerse myself in the beauty of another part of the Cape region.

One night this weekend, I was able to have the chance to share a long evening of conversation with a few South Africans living in the area where we were staying.  One, a man in his 60's named Ron, the other a female Masters student who is 28 - the same age as I am - named Sara.   Both of them are white South Africans.  Despite their different European  heritage, both identify strongly and singularly as South African.  As we shared conversation over wine and bread and the course of many hours one evening, I was given a really vivid picture of the South Africa of each of their experiences. I'll do my best to objectively share about what I heard in their stories...and maybe editorialize a little bit at the end! :-)

Ron grew up in South Africa, then traveled to Britain for school, and decided to stay there for a bit.  He eventually married a German woman, and moved to Germany to live with her and raise their children.  He came back to SA when his marriage ended, and he's been here ever since.  He works in the government doing scientific work.  He speaks with what sounds to us like a very British accent.

Sara grew up on a rural farm near Durban - no electricity, no running water.  One of her parents is German, and the other was born in SA to German parents.  Sara's first language was german, but now she speaks, english, german, and afrikaans.  She's a botany student who is starting her masters and planning to do fieldwork in Mongolia.  (Fieldwork actually won't be her first time in Mongolia...she recently competed in a 1,000 kilometer horse race there, tracing the path of Genghis Khan!)   Sara shared a lot with us about her perspectives on race and culture in South African society today, and Ron also added his perspectives every now and again.

Sara talked of growing up without a concept of race.  To her, she didn't notice differences between skin color.  It wasn't until boarding school, when some of the black girls in her dorm called her a racist, that she went home to ask her mom about what racism was.  Sara started her schooling just as apartheid was being dismantled.  When she came to the University of Stellenbosch (less than ten years ago), all instruction was still being delivered in Afrikaans (remember, that's the language of the education that the students in Soweto were protesting).  She feels that her school experience had no influence of apartheid, and she also feels that even though it's only been one generation since the apartheid regime was in power, a lot of good development has happened in SA.  She implied that maybe its time everyone "moves on" from what happened during the apartheid years - it's been over 20 years now...Sara shared that some of the wealthiest people in the country are now made up of the black Africans who only twenty years ago were deeply oppressed by apartheid.

Sara spoke with deep reverence for president Mandela - sharing that he united the entire country and did tremendous things for South Africa.  She said she thought Mandela's death was bringing everyone back to the realizations of all he did here, and the incredible man that he was.  She also shared that she feels that the leaders since Mandela have not been able to make nearly as much progress.

Sara's perspective is that the government has worked very hard to create opportunities for groups who had been oppressed, and that this has resulted in a lot more opportunities for people who once had no chance to thrive in the South Africa of apartheid.  She shared that some white South Africans are now finding it harder than ever to find a job, as everyone must check a box that correlates to their race, and preference is often given to black or coloured applicants. She was definitely frustrated with this perception, and Ron chimed in with his agreement.

I found their story to bring to mind conversations I've had and stories that have been shared in the US - a lack of identifying or "seeing" race or color (I believe this is an attribute of white privilege), frustration with what might be seen as affirmative action, even a bit of resentment for the shifting power structure in the country.  I just can't help hearing echoes of experiences and conversations I've had in America as I hear people here share their stories.  These were just two South Africans sharing their experiences, but there are so many connections to be made, and I can't stop myself from wondering how we all can have the courage to look back at issues of race in our countries and use them to move forward into a more reconciled future...

Maybe it's a good time to explain a little bit about race here in SA.  Here, most people (at least traditionally) identify their race as white, black, or coloured.  White South Africans may descend from Europeans - British or Dutch colonialists, European immigrants, etc.  Coloured South Africans tend to be lighter skinned and have mixed heritage or descend from slaves brought to the region.  Black South Africans tend to be those whose families are more native to the region.  In the midst of apartheid, a strong (and legalized) racial hierarchy existed in soceity, with white at the top, coloured in the middle (the lighter you were, the closer to the top were), and black at the bottom.  On their passbooks, people were identified solely by their looks - certain attributes (straight hair, light colored eyes, etc) helped one "pass" as white, where other attributes (curly hair, darker complexion, etc) could earn you the stamp of coloured or black.  Even within the same family, sometimes one child might be identified as a different race than their siblings or parents, purely because of their physical appearance.  Just another piece of evidence of the social construction of race, and the shocking power it has had.

Today, as was the case during the apartheid regime, whites are in the minority population speaking.  Both Sara and Ron thought the white population to be around 20%.  According to wikipedia (terrible source, I know!), it's even less:
The 2011 census figures for these groups were Black African at 79.2%, White at 8.9%, Coloured at 8.9%, Indian or Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.^[15]:21 The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that whites made up 22% of the population; it declined to 16% in 1980,^[16] and 8.9% in 2011
Here's a map (wikipedia again!), showing the different parts of the country and their racial makeup.  It's worth checking out if you're interested.

So...a little bit of background, and the beginning of some qualitative snapshots of race, education, and life in South Arica.  As I said, the weekend played out much differently than planned, but it was enlightening and interesting all the same!

~emily~

Day #6: Bo Kaap & the Slave Lodge

Hey everyone!

I've been off the grid and away from internet the last couple of days, so let me get caught up with posts and what I've been learning!

Day #6: Thursday, June 19

Yet another great, thought provoking day!

We started off with a final nice breakfast at the great boutique hotel where we have been staying the last couple of nights.  Everyone has been so friendly, we've met some nice fellow travelers, and it's been nice (though tiring as well) to be right in the heart of Cape Town.  Then, off to do some exploring in the Bo Kaap neighborhood.

Bo Kaap literally means "above the cape."  It was one area where former slaves (black Africans and colored people) were allowed to reside, as at that time the neighborhood on the side of Signal Hill was far out of the city of Cape Town, a whites-only area.  Because slaves were forbidden from wearing colored clothes, they chose to live vibrantly in their new, free lives - painting their homes the most beautiful vibrant colors.  Now, as Cape Town has grown, Bo Kaap is right in the heart of the city.  It is home to the Muslim community of Cape Town, and such a lovely place to walk around.  I don't think I've seen such brightly colored homes one right after another!  Of course I went crazy with my camera! :-)  We learned also that Bo Kaap is facing issues with gentrification.  What was once an area considered far from anywhere desirable to live, is now a beautiful and vibrant community right in the heart of Cape Town.  Some of the original residents fear being pushed out of their homes by others looking to get a spot in this picturesque community.  I do hope that this community won't lose its heritage and its originality, and that those who choose to call it home will always have the opportunity to!  (And...I'm reflecting on changes in my own neighborhood as I think about this.  So many connections between here and there!)

We spent the rest of the morning at the Slave Lodge museum - going back in time from Bo Kaap into the world of slavery in SA.  This museum is located in a building that was literally called The Slave Lodge - described as a "shameless fortress of human misery."  It's exactly what its name implies - a fortress of a building that where the slaves of the 17th and 18th centuries lived, worked, and died.  After slavery was banned in the British colonies, the Slave Lodge became home to government buildings, but it has now returned to an echo of its former space - using halls once filled with anguish and torture to teach about the past and advocate human rights.  Poignant...

The history of slavery in South Africa is very reminiscent of the slavery of American history.  The museum pointed out that slavery was present in many different cultures, in many different locations around the globe, from ancient times to present day.  What an awful stain on the history of humanity!  Slavery took root in Cape Town when the Dutch East India Company needed workers to tend the gardens, build, and repair ships at the "refreshment station" on the Cape.  Spice traders would stop at the Cape en route to their shipping destinations, and slaves were "needed" to build the infrastructure to make this happen.  Many of the slaves housed at the Slave Lodge worked in the Company Gardens - a large garden area where a stream was rerouted from Table Mountain and fruits and vegetables were grown (A portion of these gardens remains today - they are outside of the parliament building and absolutely gorgeous!)

The majority of the African slaves came from Mozambique and Madagascar, although there were also slaves from Asia and Indonesia, and eventually the local Khoikhoi were used as indentured servants.  Interestingly (and absolutely bizarre!), because the slaves were so diverse, it was impossible to tell walking down the street who was a slave, and who was not.  (If you can't tell that someone is different from yourself, how can you possibly feel it's acceptable to enslave them?!)  As a result, slaves were not allowed to wear shoes, colored clothing, and many wore wide straw hats as a symbol of their status.  Slaves outside the lodge were also required to carry pass books - an erie foreshadowing of what was to come...

As in American history, slaves in SA were treated horrendously.  Many, many died in the horrible conditions on the slave ships, and those who made it to the Cape lived an awful existence - working from sun up to sun down, losing their children or spouses to the slave trade, physical punishment and torture, rape, imprisonment...the list goes on...  One quote in the museum reflected on those involved in the slave trade.  "When they (the slave traders) embark on this unworthy trade, they must divest themselves of every human idea; their hearts must be steeled by insensibility and their crew must be equally callous to the finer feelings of humanity." ~Samuel Hudson, Cape Town resident.

One of my favorite little sections of the museum was a column filled with names of some of the slaves of the Slave Lodge (poor records make it impossible to know all of those who were enslaved there).  It had rings like trees, and really brought to mind the depth of injustice and the ripple effect it has on individuals, families, communities, and countries.  In the background was a portion of a poem commissioned for the musuem.  It really rang true to me, to why it's important to consider the history of injustice, and take the time to look back even as we so strongly desire to move forward:
In the light of memory and remembering
Through the streams of our senses
Reconnecting
Recollecting
We find our way home
~from Slave Dream by Malika Ndlovu

Another highlight was an artistic installation by Keith Dietrich called "Fragile Histories - Fugitive Lives."  It was a beautiful recollection of the humanity behind injustice - drawings of human hearts overlaid with names and criminal sentences of those enslaved.

Despite its atrocities, the history of slavery has contributed to the culture of South Africa.  South Africa refers to itself as a melting pot - a fascinating combination of African, Dutch, British, Indonesian, and Indian cultures.  The evidence of this convergence can be seen in the street names and architecture, heard in the language and music, and tasted in the food.  It's a really fascinating place!!!  As the Slave Lodge reminds visitors, "we are, because of them."  Ubuntu...

On a side note, we ran into a group of 8th grade students and their teachers at the museum.  We were able to chat with them a bit and learn about their school and education system.  They were from a Cape Town public school, made up of diverse students from the surrounding area (though very few white students were in the bunch.)  The teacher shared with us that their school became "multicultural" even before it was law.  Believe it or not, schools in SA were legally segregated until 1994.  This school chose to desegregate in 1990.  (It's harrowing to realize that I could, and probably would, have attended a segregated school for part of my life had I been born a South African!)  She also shared that as students can choose any school they wish to attend, there is a trend where everyone tries to go further and further "up the chain" to get to the best schools.  As a result, those who could moved away from their school and towards a school they thought was better.  Then, students at a school "below" this one, moved "up" and so on.  I am interested to learn more about this as I get into more education conversations next week...

The teachers were just over a week away from their 3 week holiday, and exhausted as teachers are everywhere when the end is in sight!  They also shared a lot about how hard they work - all the overtime that they put in without compensation and how much work they take home.  Sounds like an international truth of teaching - the dedication always outweighs the hours in the contract!  :-)  The students were in the midst of a unit on slavery and were eager to share their knowledge with us of the Underground Railroad and Harriet "Hubman," as one student proudly shouted out.  It was a fun surprise chance to chat and learn and share!

We decided to grab lunch on a patio at the V&A Waterfront again - it's so beautiful and fun to stroll and people watch there - reminds me a lot of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.  I was also able to connect and finalize plans with a few of the education contacts I will be seeing while I'm here - 3 visits confirmed with educators/those in the education world for next week!  I'm greatly looking forward to connecting the backdrop of what I'm learning with their qualitative perspectives on life and education in SA today!

It's amazing to think I left home just one week ago today!  I've been able to fit in a lot of learning, thinking, and adventuring in the last seven days.  The next couple of days we will explore Stellenbosch, a lovely area less than an hour outside of the city (though it feels like a different world altogether!), home to the seminary where Apartheid was advocated as a religious ideal, and also home to the heart of the Cape Town wine country.  Even in winter, it's an absolutely gorgeous area!  I'm looking forward to a few nights in a country cottage as a midway time to reflect on all that I've been able to see and learn this last week!  No internet there, so I'll post as I can.

Connect again soon!

~emily~