BLACK, AFRICAN AND PRESENT IN THE US.

by Tshego Ntshabeleng (South Africa)

A leap into the unknown USA

At my very young age, what does seeing the White House do for me? What does going to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial and watching his giant statue look down on everyone as he sits on a chair do for me and my country? And fine, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial is a dreamy damn sight but, like?! I’m a black 10 year old girl from Africa – South Africa. Who are these people? What contribution did they at least make to the world at large including Africa? We were taken to the significant monuments and memorials that honoured the 52 presidents that had led the United States of America. Oh man, now I remember specific places that remain as clear as picture in my memory. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial is one of the sites I was highly connected to. I think because of how little I was, I was mesmerized by the fact that he was on a wheelchair and had a close relationship with his pet; he was also usually mentioned with his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. The Capitol Building, regardless of my cluelessness regarding what actually takes place in it, still remains the most beautiful building I’ve ever been in. It towers over Washington DC with impeccable architecture that clothes the even more complex architecture, art and design. I wish I went when I was high school or just at an age when I would be able to distinctly document the beauty I’m writing about. Anyway, a 5th grader from the nationwide undermined province of Limpopo in South Africa, a Third World country – I was simultaneously overwhelmed and ecstatic about this trip to Washington DC. The People to People leadership program was designed to allow future leaders from different continents and countries to network, learn and grow. Nevertheless, it wasn’t designed for people like me. I did not understand most of the content that we were taught because the history that I was taught in my school said nothing about Dwight Eisenhower who seemed to be hero that side. I remember sitting in the bus from visiting one of the prestigious places of history, writing down a reflection to mirror my experience. At the end of each visit we had to diarize how we felt about the place or fill in some task that indicated that our history knowledge was improving from this program. T-girl was the name because Tshegofatso was too damn long and difficult to pronounce. I held my pen as though I’m still gathering my thoughts but really I was gathering strength and courage to ask one of the other kids if they could help me because I was completely clueless. “T-girl, you never know anything? Why?” she asked concerned. This was after I asked another question to clarify if I was getting the dates of the World Wars right. I look at my 10 year old siblings and I crave to have conversations that challenge them to think they way the People to People program required of us. These thoughts would yield conversations that allow them to explore and learn about our country’s history and the leaders that made it possible for the opportunities we have to exist. It was absolutely irrelevant at that time to me because I had absolutely no background. Also, I was 10! In retrospect that experience more than anything opened my eyes to the kind of system the education in all countries follow. There was nothing that celebrated the justice of the black marginalised being achieved eventually. What does it do to me to celebrate a president who in his time saw absolutely nothing wrong with segregation/apartheid? VOTE OBAMA and VOTE MCCAIN posters were everywhere from the moment I arrived at the airport. This political climate was something I truly wanted to understand so that I could engage in conversations about it. Regardless, of not knowing what to write about all the 52 presidents and how they changed the world in their time in office, seeing Obama run and that it was only then that the chances that the next president would be black, gave me so much hope. It made me understand why I was there, why I was chosen.