The Diary of a Mad Coloured woman

So, recently there’s been quite the uproar about a particular South African singer (namely Tyla) that went on national television, in the USA and told millions of Americans that she identifies as a “Coloured” woman.  I was completely oblivious to what had happened until afterward, when I saw a post on Instagram about this topic.  In the post, an African American blogger went on a rant about how Tyla needed to be educated about the word ‘Coloured’ and what it means in America. And as I proceeded to read more, I found myself falling down a rabbit hole. There were so many people, not from South Africa (and not Coloured), that had very similar opinions (bearing in mind that America does not have copyrite on the word). I even found a thread that wants to “abolish the word Coloured” completely, as if it doesn’t exist. This got me especially riled-up.

So, let’s start with a brief history lesson, shall we? The Coloured people in South Africa originated from a vast variety of races. In fact, we are believed to possess the most diverse DNA on earth, as we are a mixture of African, European and Asian bearing in mind that Asia alone is made up of 48 different countries) descent. It all started during 1653 in Cape Town, South Africa. This was the time when The Cape was claimed as a Dutch colony. The Dutch turn The Cape into a port, where ships that were traveling across continents could come and refuel on fresh food and water. Like a ‘pitstop’ if you will… Many people saw this as an opportunity to start enterprises. Thus, they needed slaves to work as well as serve as prostitutes for the travelling sailors.  Slaves were brought from Europe and all of Asia as well as some islands. Between 1653 and 1856 over 71000 slaves were brought to Cape Town. These slaves would copulate with Africans and with each other and that is how the Coloured people came to be.

Now, though we were birthed through hardships and tragedy, we were able to forge a life for ourselves. We built communities, started families; we have our own dialect, our own culture, our own cuisine and our own traditions. We became our own people. We thrive under the label ‘Coloured’. It’s the only word that truly encompasses how colourful we are. Yes, it was a label given to us by the apartheid government. But, there’s a beauty to it, an irony. We have claimed it as our own, turned it into something spectacular, something extraordinary; a beautiful description of our diversity and our uniqueness.

Hi, my name is Claudia Adonis, I am from Cape Town South Africa and I identify as a Coloured woman.