Hope, Fear, Shame, Frustration: Continuity and Change in the Expression of Coloured Identity in White Supremacist South Africa, 1910–1994

Abstract

Journal of Southern African Studies Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:This article seeks to explain the basic impulses behind coloured exclusivity in white supremacist South Africa and to elaborate on continuity and change in the processes of coloured self-definition by identifying the core attributes of coloured identity and outlining the ways in which they operated to reinforce and reproduce that identity. The central argument is that coloured identity is better understood not as having evolved through a series of transformations, as conventional historical thinking would have it and as the existing literature assumes, but as having remained remarkably stable throughout the era of white rule. It is argued that this stability derived from a core of enduring characteristics that informed the manner in which colouredness functioned as an identity during this period. This is not to contend that coloured identity was static or that it lacked fluidity, but that there were both important constraints on the ways in which it was able to find expression and sufficiently strong continuities in its day-to-day functioning for coloured identity to have remained recognisably uniform despite radical changes in the social and political landscape during this time. The principal constituents of this stable core are the assimilationism of the coloured people, which spurred hopes of future acceptance into the dominant society; their intermediate status in the racial hierarchy, which generated fears that they might lose their position of relative privilege and be relegated to the status of Africans; the negative connotations, especially the shame attached to racial hybridity, with which colouredness was imbued; and finally, the marginality of the coloured community, which severely limited their options for social and political action, giving rise to a great deal of frustration.

The Experiences of Female Principals in the Gauteng Province

“…When once they felt superior over the Blacks, they now faced chauvinism. Having always enjoyed a position of relative privilege, they experienced marginality, betrayal by former supporters of the anti-apartheid movement, and loss of status [1].…”

Coloured and Black Identities of Residents Forcibly Removed from Blouvlei

“…Coloureds were concerned that by standing up to their white oppressors, they might be 'relegated to the status of Africans'. 44 Adhikari mentions other issues, such as the shame that was attached to racial hybridity, which was a great part of being coloured, and of course the marginality of the coloured population in comparison with the other two groups. All these factors, according to Adhikari, severely limited the actions of coloured people, both politically and socially.…”

Racialism and Representation in the Rainbow Nation

“…Other groups departed toward the east and north in search of greater freedoms. It was these urban free people of color that felt the need to assert their uniqueness in the face of migrating competition (Adhikari, 2006). Differently, in the British run Natal colony (today's KZN), indentured servants from East India and China, merchants and explorers from the British Isles and their descendants intertwined Christian patriarchy and Hindu ritual with Nguni spirituality and languages to form a uniquely creolized group (Palmer, 2015).…”

“…Venter (1974) notes historically the speed at which the unique blending of various distinct ethnic cultures and peoples occurred, giving rise to the Coloured category, allowed for different attitudes and cultural practices to develop in relation to place. According to Mohammad Adhikari (2006), a separate "Coloured identity crystalized in the late nineteenth century" in relation to the emancipation of indigenous Khoisan and imported Black, West African slaves. During the mining revolution, the presence of newly liberated slaves, an influx of Bantu speaking Nguni tribes, and the growth of "mixed populations" created a perceived resource shortage.…”

“…Mohamad Adhikari (1994Adhikari ( , 2006Adhikari ( , 2009, Nadine Dolby (2000Dolby ( , 2001, Zimitri Erasmus (2001), Paul Gilroy (2000, Al J. Venter (1974), and Janet Yarwood (2006Yarwood ( , 2011 …”