White Africans: Africans of the Soil by Adoption

I think that along the journey of life, through circumstance and experience all of us have particular questions awakened within us. The beauty of life lies in the fact that many people will pass through the same (or at least similar) experiences and yet come out with different questions which they desire to be answered. These questions become a driving force within us as we seek to navigate the path of life.

 

One of the key questions that have been awakened in me and that I continue to wrestle with is, ‘what does it mean to be a white person living in Africa?’ While it is true that I have European (British and Dutch) ancestry, Africa is the only place worthy of being called my home. My first breath was taken from the mouth of Mother Africa and God willing my last will be taken here. My first step was taken on African soil and my wish is to one day return to the soil I first stepped on.

 

Some people would argue that my white skin excludes any claim I might make to being African. This is a kind of mortal wound to my soul for if I am not a child of Africa I am an orphan, homeless and without a mother. Generally these people equate Africaness with black skin. To be fair most of our immediate response to what constitutes Africaness would more than likely include having black skin. The problem is that if this is true then most of Northern Africa (Eqypt, Morocco, Libya etc) would be excluded from any claim to African identity. So if black skin is not the mark of Africaness, can I in any meaningful way call myself an African and on what grounds?

 

My good friend Mzi has posted a truly beautiful and insightful comment on this question (read here http://curtisamongfriends.wordpress.com/2009/03/06/everyone-is-african/#comment-16). Mzi is someone who has taken the time to understand the identity struggle many young (and old?) post apartheid white South Africans are having. He has been a helpful and supportive companion as I have wrestled with these questions. Quoting from Prof. Ali Mazrui’s essay called “Africans of the blood…Africans of the soil”, Mzi draws out two definitions of what it means to be an African

 

·         Africans of the Blood are defined in racial and genealogical terms. They are identified with the black race. As far as I am aware I would not fall into this category

 

·         Africans of the Soil are defined in geographical terms. They are identified with the African continental in nationality and ancestral location.

 

Mzi concludes by saying that ‘white South Africans are Africans of the soil by adoption’. This statement is pregnant with the potential to bring much healing and restoration to many whites who feel alienated and often unwanted in Africa, especially South Africa. I would probably add a nuance to what Mzi has laid out as a definition of being African by saying,

 

  to be African is to be committed to the future and fate of Africa and all her people.

 

In other words I might argue that though you might be living on African soil and may have African nationality, if you are not committed to the future and fate of Africa and all her people you exclude yourself from a claim to African identity. This is where I think many of us whites fail, we are more concerned about our particular interests in South Africa as opposed to the fate and future of all South Africans.

 

Please read his comment in full it is well worth the time. What do you think constitutes Africaness? Are you comfortable calling yourself African, on what grounds? Do you think white skin immediately nullifies any claims to Africaness?