#capecoloured

[amaandla]

[mixdgrlproblems]

@lesleyannbrandt: “You’re probably still asking what makes a “Colored”, #Colored. Well like the name suggests, it is someone of many colors. My heritage consists of #German ( my last name), #Indian #British and #Spanish. My mother has the Indian, but is very fair and could be mistaken for white if you’ve never met her or you’re not from South Africa.” 🇿🇦 Her father however was a very dark man with Indian heritage. Her mother had an olive complexion. “My father on the other hand has mostly European heritage, (a white German grandfather on his fathers side and a white British Grandfather and Spanish grandmother on his mothers side), but looks much darker than me. On my dad’s side, my grandfather had really dark olive coloring with green eyes and my grandmother was often mistaken as white during Apartheid. She would often sneak into white only grocery stores to buy food because no one really questioned her.” 🙀 Lesley-Ann Brandt is known as a South African-born actress (of #CapeColoured descent) who is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and Los Angeles. She speaks English and Afrikaans. 🌍 Brandt has acted in a number of New Zealand television series and first came to international notice with her role as a slave girl Naevia in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. She was in The Librarians and played Lamia, a skilled assassin for an evil organisation called the Serpent Brotherhood. She performs all her own stunts in the series, and says her training during “Gladiator camp” during the filming of Spartacus really helped her. In 2015 she won the role of Maze in the FOX television series Lucifer. She also appeared on the hit series Gotham as Larissa Diaz/Copperhead. 🌟 “In Thailand, I’m mistaken as Thai, in New Zealand I’ve been told I look Polynesian. Indians can see my Indian heritage and in America, I’ve been told I look African American or Latin American. I like it that way.” 😻 #WCW #mixedgirls https://www.instagram.com/p/B0TxBdUFhr7/?igshid=oom3n5xd75kd

[colouredsofcapetown-blog]

"Today I received my degree with a distinction, and as I reflect on the day that has passed, I realise that I owe it all to the little boys from the Flats who believe they are destined to fall prey to gangsterism, drugs and poverty. To inspire them to aspire to be more than just a statistic. I too walked the streets of Lavender Hill, Seawinds and Steenberg every morning, for 45 minutes to get to school. I too lived in those areas where gang violence, assualt, robbery and drug abuse were a normal part of my daily life. For many coloured boys from the flats...like me, a university career was never an option and therefore we choose to live in the now, #yolo. But all that Yolo brings is a few, short moments of laughs amongst friends. Friends who, I can guarantee you, will not be there tomorrow. To my coloured boys, don't seek a sense of false security in the circles that you run in. You are more than what you believe you are capable of. Your worth is not determined by your net-worth." #capecoloured #capecoloureds #vanniekaap #southafrican #capetown #southafrica #southafricancoloured #people #peopleofcapetown #peopleofsouthafrica #southafricancoloureds #humansofcapetown #ambition #goals #achievement #stories #teaching #everydayafrica (at Cape Town, Western Cape)

[amaandla]

6 Books You Should Read About South Africa's Cape Coloured Identity — written by Cape Coloured women, for Cape Coloured women and girls who are often dismissed and overlooked in stories, research, and literature on gender, race, and class issues in South Africa.

Understandably, many Coloured people feel "invisible" — during apartheid, they were made visibly Coloured through laws and pass systems, yet were often excluded in terms of cultural identity, self-perception, and upbringing. As a result, some choose to identify with other terms instead of "Coloured."

Still, many families have proudly identified as Coloured for generations, passing down knowledge and teachings through the centuries. Both perspectives have played equally important roles in shaping our community’s history and collective identity. These books explore these complex sides and beyond through detailing personal journeys, family histories, and oral stories.

All books are a must read -- and we want to hear from YOU! Those who are just learning about this sub genre... Those who purchased them for their never-ending book stacks but have not had a chance to read them... Those who feel reflected through these books and gain a sense of validation... and of course, those who read them and despise them!

[amaandla]

The Absence of Our Shared Afro-Futures: DNA Testing

In South Africa, DNA testing has a complex and contested history, particularly given the eugenic underpinnings of the apartheid regime, which manipulated scientific research to justify white supremacy (Turner, 2024). In the post-apartheid era, narratives celebrating the benefits of DNA testing have proliferated, particularly with the rise of capitalist-driven initiatives such as AncestryDNA. These services offer possibilities for family reunification, contribute to the dismantling of bias, and inform research and narratives about marginalized groups historically excluded from official archives and other historical sources. For many, access to DNA testing has led to ambiguous and sometimes contradictory messages about belonging, communal identity, and origins. These tensions deeply affect key components of identity formation—such as ethnicity and race—and have, paradoxically, led to feelings of exclusion for some individuals.

Although this sense of exclusion can be profoundly damaging, it is often dismissed until it manifests in tangible societal outcomes, such as adverse mental health effects, social unrest, or the rise of nationalism and extremism (Macron, Rachuel, and Caulfield, 2020).

When I began my fieldwork in January 2024, DNA-related narratives were already prevalent online. One striking example included the claim: “Our Khoikhoi women, the carriers of the world’s most ancient DNA, have been the most beautiful on this land.” Such narratives have real offline impacts, particularly on the ethnic and racial constructions surrounding Coloured identities and communities. Since then, I have encountered a proliferation of similar narratives. Statements such as, “Many Coloured individuals can trace their lineage and history to the Khoekhoe/San tribes and are their ancestors,” initially seem to offer solidarity. However, these are often accompanied by conflicting or unresolved ideas about the legacy of slavery, colonialism, and apartheid, reinforcing rigid boundaries around the meanings of Colouredness and indigeneity.

While many individuals may now be able to trace their DNA, there is still a prevailing sentiment that “our youth are still left behind” because Coloured communities “refuse to acknowledge” or are “negligent in understanding” their complex “shared historical roots as Khoi people.” These online narratives not only increased in volume but also became flashpoints for tension, generating sharp conflicts between South Africans and their diasporic descendants over questions of Coloured identity.

In my own family, AncestryDNA testing confirmed long-held suspicions about several ancestors who, according to archival records, were frequently racially reclassified by state officials at different points in their lives, often between baptism and marriage. These ancestors were all born at least a century before the official start of apartheid, which meant that much of our familial history was preserved through oral storytelling, often fragmented by various forms of migration and the erasure of records.

When I discovered that my family’s roots also extend to Turtle Island, it took me over two decades to begin understanding decolonization. Although the term has become a buzzword among many Canadians, it remains a critical reminder to me, as a South African, that blame should not be placed solely on individuals. Rather, it is important to recognize that colonial systems have long adapted and persisted, actively enforcing structures of oppression through the erasure of knowledge, identity, and entire communities. South Africa is not immune to such manipulations. However, it appears that Turtle Island is, in some respects, further along in co-creating and preserving knowledge across communities to resist such erasures.

Erasure, often employed as a survival strategy during slavery and colonialism, has led many Coloured individuals to deny or remain unaware of their ancestral and genealogical heritage. Whether this erasure is deliberate or incidental, the enduring legacies of forced adoption, systemic violence, death, shame, and intergenerational guilt have been deeply embedded within Coloured communities and remain insufficiently examined. Addressing this legacy requires the creation of inclusive and affirming spaces that support Coloured individuals at all stages of their identity formation. Such efforts must navigate the tension between historical invisibility and contemporary hypervisibility, while promoting multifaceted and contextually grounded understandings of Coloured identity.

[mixdgrlproblems]

@carmen.solomons: #CapeColoured (the Cape Coloureds are a mixed-race population who are the plural majority in the southwestern Cape region of South Africa 🇿🇦) “The “what are you” question is something I receive on a daily basis since I’ve been in America. When asked about my ethnicity I say I am 100% #African. The #Khoisan people moved upwards to East Africa, where civilization then began in the Nile valley (Starting in Ethiopia, where Asian DNA was traced back to). Scientists predicted that their migration patterns moved them to the rest of the world, later on, starting from the Red Sea. – This is accurate to the history of the Nile. – In fact, these people possess the MOST DIVERSE DNA on the planet! And nearly, if not all of the original genetics. Anthropologists describe looking at them as a “composite model of every face from around the world.” The eye shape of #EastAsians, high cheek bones of #Mongolians, the mid-brown skin able to be darker or lighter, etc. – Although the cradle of human life remains in South Africa , and the oldest people are the Khoisan, genetic evolution, mixing, and mutation down the line make people unique and distinct. – The Khoisan people are called #Bushmen. Furthermore, they are also responsible for nearly every color, gene, and nationality of modern humanity. – They are beautiful! ❤️” #WCW #mixedgirls #africans https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxx-6vYFaSK/?igshid=zu4whtg0heul

[amaandla]

There is always lots of chatter about Afrikaans amongst those in the diasporas in Canada and the United States, yet not much is available for those part of these spaces as often there are challenges with locating resources. This series works to create conversations amongst girls and women in both diasporas and homelands who seek to inform and engage with knowledge about Afrikaans. With the new mural revealed in Bo Kaap this May 2025, this resource not only is timely but a reminder that language while often has considerable importance with identity and belonging, is co-created through communities, generations and more thereby never being solely owned by anyone. Coloured communities, and our cousins beyond benefit equally from engaging in collective resources and conversations. Yet Coloured communities (and others) may also benefit more from accessing similar types of resources, created by coloured people for coloured people as they often feel represented, reducing a sense of marginalization and erasure. It's not about division, it's about empowering and uplifting valuable perspectives and diversity and creating community without restrictions - anyone can access and benefit from these resources.

[amaandla]

Our Cape Town Heritage (OCTH) is a registered non-profit organization that is committed to protecting, promoting and preserving Cape Malay heritage and culture. It seeks to engage with archival history, artwork and public displays to offer community a way to learn and engage about significant history, thereby reducing the dangers which come from a loss of cultural heritage. It not only privileges Cape Malay history, but centres it within Cape Town's original inhabitants which came before the arrival of settlers. They further structure community in a way that celebrate the cultural wealth and diversity of all South Africa's roots through prioritizing notions of non-racialization and multi-culturalism. We have learned a lot from their posts and highly recommend others from the community to visit their website to learn more information about their educational resources, in-person exhibits, and social media presence!