As is my habit lately, I was flipping through the online version of the New York Times this morning, when I came across an article about the release of the matric results in South Africa. To my surprise, they focused on my old high school – Greenside – and included a quote from my old English teacher – Ms. Whyte.
The school’s top math and science scholar, a “brilliant†kid, is black, Ms. Whyte said. “In 1984,†she added, “he wouldn’t have been able to come to this school.â€
I remember when I started high school in 1991, that we were the first year that had black kids (about 5) studying alongside the white ones. We had been completely segregated up to that point throughout the whole of primary school. High school was the site of many changes, and this one, which went mostly unnoticed at the time was probably one of the more profound.