tsoseletso high school [bloemfontein, south africa]
on a brisk south african winter morning, we entered into an auditorium from the outdoor courtyard of tsoseletso high. the sounds erupting from the building were similar to those of a concert crowd anxiously awaiting the arrival of a special someone.
we entered, and roughly 1500 high school students erupted into applause, cheer and awed silence, for some. we walked to the front stage and took seats at a modest desk, four women of color, college students, in front of over a thousand black teens.
the students broke into highly organized and melodic song. hand gestures to match, harmonies perfectly synchronized. the young boys took their alto parts seriously, while the ladies swept into a symphonic soprano. under the guidance of their principal, the songs continued, and were only interrupted by “the Lord’s prayer”. the student body president came on stage to thank us, praising our accomplishments as black women, and encouraging his fellow peers to follow suit.
tsoseletso high school serves an incredibly impoverished township in “the free state” of south africa. most children walk an average of 5-6 miles to and from school each day. the free state is cold during the school year, roughly 30-45 degrees, and their uniforms provide only a modest sweat jacket for warmth. there are no operating bathrooms at the high school, nor is there food. students have learned to hold their bladder and their appetite, although many of them rarely eat at home, either. nevertheless, it is one of the top performing high schools in all of south africa. they win every academic competition, top the test score charts, and have seen numerous visits from nelson mandela himself. they can not be stopped.
we all dismissed, and filed into random classrooms to observe the educators and educated at work. all too overwhelmed with curiosity, the students could not focus on their work for long and plowed us with questions about america. I explained that I was from st. louis, “near chicago”, I would always say. see, young south africans love the bulls and kanye, so this is how I best displayed my geographic relation to them.
one student raised his hand, “in chicago, are neighborhoods separated by black and white?” how could I tell him no? though chicago is extremely diverse, it is also greatly stratified by race. somehow word got out to a remote township in africa. this is food for thought.
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