In Formation
Session 02–28.09.2020 | Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
— How does one came to be?
For me this was the question of the session. On this, we looked at examples of campaigns around the world that contributed to inspire, to bring awareness and to awake individuals and collectively towards action. In particular, we looked at the impact of student activism and the grandeur of its outreach. Here, I was intrigued by the Soweto Uprising that happened in South Africa amidst the heights of the Apartheid in 16 June 1976. Initially a proclamation against the discriminating Bantu System of the National Education, turned into a whole ‘world-wide’ revolution against Apartheid and the start of its fall. The bias of the Bantu System is institutional and systemic, to the extent that it limits education opportunities and only enforces selective emancipation of the country’s black African population into confining trainings that serve the white privilege. This was most evident and most restricting in that they passed a new rule for all communication within the school-system (lessons, exams, etc.) be done in Afrikaans (“the language of oppressors”). In opposition, over 20,000 students of the Soweto community brought this public to the streets, where they organised a peaceful protest. Unfortunately, the peace was soon corrupted by brutal attacks made by local enforcements (police) on the innocent yet powerful students. Though their peaceful approach in activism, the event’s reputation is now tarnished due to the brutality that occurred. But with that, it ignited the frustrations and courage of those in other regions of South Africa or even other countries like the UK and US, to then voice their solidarity with the students of Soweto; making the start of rise and worldwide war against the Apartheid.
There are many reasons as why people act the way they do and do the things they do. One would argue that this reasoning lies at the “Intersection” between Contribution, Motivation, and Convention. In further understanding of ourselves, one may find their motivation at the intersection of their conditions (mentally and/or physically). It’s also important to remind ourselves about the “inter — ” in “interaction”, the importance and clarity that is brought by combining layers of meanings. Intersectionality, as said by Kimberly Crenshaw in her 2016 WOW Keynote, is mindful of how structures make an identity beyond the level of identification. This would bridge my intersections of: multi-cultural upbringing, curiosity to understand, and interests on people, with my ideal visions of contributing to community impact projects.
