A Trip to Zonkizizwe Secondary on Mandela’s 94th Birthday

I have only just arrived in Johannesburg, so I am pleased that the months of work trying to set up connections before I came is coming to fruition.  Thanks largely to a sister named Lerato, an employee of TEACH South Africa, I am able to link with teachers and principals from four different schools over the next few weeks.  My hope is to find at least two schools with teachers who will use the Dialogues in the Diaspora curriculum on “this side,” such that they will be able to link with the teachers who are using the curriculum in the States, and we can collectively create this particular diasporic dialogue between youth focused on social action. 

This is the students’ first week back to school after the three-week winter break, and it is also Mandela’s birthday week.  In Mandela’s honor, many public schools have a celebratory and action-oriented vibe this week.  In accordance with the UN-declared Nelson Mandela International Day, it has become a South African tradition to spend 67 minutes engaged in positive action for social change, to honor Mandela’s 67 years of civic service.    

It is with this contextual backdrop that I visited the first of four schools.  I was rolling with an entourage – 7 deep – from TEACH South Africa (TSA), which is a South African NGO based heavily on the Teach for America model.  It was clear that the principal had prepared extensively for our visit, as the three founders of TSA are super VIPs in Johannesburg and nationally: one founder is the chairwoman of Deloitte South Africa, another founder is a well-known medical doctor and public health practitioner, and the third founder is a prominent educator who grew up in the anti-apartheid struggle. 

I experienced a heavy dose of the imposter syndrome, as I was asked to join the TSA big-wigs on a stage in front of the entire student body when we arrived.  I was thinking to myself “I just met these warm folks this morning, I have no business being on this stage!”  I was also highly aware of the influence that six particular letters had in shaping my role in the experience.  The “P” the “h.” and the “D.”, coupled with the “U.” the “S.” and the “A.” seemed to open many more doors than any six letters should, so I felt overwhelmed and thankful simultaneously.  We were welcomed heartily in the student courtyard, by the students singing a welcome song as well as their school anthem. 

My heart was warmed when I looked out into the sunny morning courtyard filled with about 200 students.  I was excited to finally have reached the spot where I have anticipated arriving for so long.  And I was encouraged by the feeling of momentary completion in witnessing the truth of the contemporary Black Diaspora, as evidenced at this moment by the globalization of fashion.  I promise you I could have been standing in front of any (Black) school, USA, as I looked out on the student body and saw the oversized plastic eye-glasses and the school-boy fresh attire that marks the most stylish US teens as well.  As the principal introduced us one by one, there was a familiar adolescent excitement of visitors at school, coupled by loud, high-pitched cheers from the girls when the two handsome men in our crew were introduced. 

Amidst the similarities, however, I felt one palpable difference from many of the schools contexts I have experienced in the States: the students were there.  They were present.  They were not jittery or sleeping or shouting obscenities.  The principal did not have to beg for their attention.  All of this, yet they were not robotic.  There was an air of respect that the kids seemed to have for their teachers, principal, school, and the visitors. 

So I was up on stage, taking all of this in, when the principal announced that Professor Jillian Ford would now address the school…  (!!).   Not having expected to even be on stage, let alone address the school, I walked over to the principal slowly as the students cheered. 

I took a deep breath, and began.  I told them that I was thankful to be at their beautiful school, especially on Mandela’s birthday (more cheers).  I told them how wonderful I felt to look out and see my students’ eyes in their eyes.  I explained to them the project we are working on, and the importance of recognizing shared struggle and resistance in the African Diaspora.  I thanked their teachers for the extraordinary amount of work they do.  I picked up on a theme that the principal had been stressing – about the importance of their South African citizenship – and challenged them to imagine also a kind of world citizenship that might connect them with youth in Atlanta, in Chicago, in DC, and beyond.  There was no microphone, so my years of using my teacher voice paid off; I saw teachers in the back of the courtyard nodding supportively.

After the program in the courtyard, I had an opportunity to build with three teachers: two English, one history.  I showed them the documentary and we talked for a long while about the curriculum.  I explained to them that I was not trying to come in there and give them a pre-packaged curriculum and expect that it fit their context, so I was seeking feedback and dialogue about its relevance and feasibility.

Their interest and engagement was encouraging.  Their feedback was invaluable.  They have agreed to be a part of the project.  And so it goes!