A South African political agenda aimed at shifting the nation to a polychromatic definition of a rainbow nation rather than a monochromatic one.

For a nation to rise, the tribe and race must die. There shall be no black and white, no Xhosa or Venda; there shall just be people.

Samora Machel once said, “For the nation to live, the tribe must die”. Samora’s quote is equivalent to what Biko defined as non-racialism. Sobukhwe expressed the same idea of racial non-plurality, and Rolihlahla referred to the same idea as a “rainbow nation”.

Although Biko and Samora distinctively referred to race, not the tribe, Rolihlahla’s reference might include tribes, although not expressly.

But what did all these thought leaders mean? Surly they were not referring to liberalism, black economic empowerment, Anti-white, or preservation, whether of minority rights and interests or culture.

I think, finding that their articulations spoke to our inner perceptions, our collective consciousness was compelled to excitement about this vision of a future South Africa in the post-apartheid era, and every generation got excited without thorough examination.

Hence, the popularity of these ideas over time. I want to argue that we did not ask the critical question. What did all these thought leaders mean?

In addition to this question, I want to propose a set of questions that I think we should have asked so that we can make a thoughtful examination of whether the rainbow nation is ideal, whether we are prepared for it and whether we know what it is that we have to do to achieve it.

I want to provide solutionist ideas of programs that speak to developing a polychromatic rainbow nation with intentionality and strategy rather than hope and rhetoric (in my next piece).

1. What would be the practical legislative changes necessary for rainbow nation-building?

2. What programs do we need to thrust society towards a real rainbow nation decisively?

3. What interpretation of “rainbow nation” should be adopted by the government and the nation to inform the programming and target outcomes?

4. What positive reinforcement of social cohesion do we need in programs to achieve “the rainbow nation”?

Related posts:

Iraq has sentenced 14 people to death by hanging for their role in the Islamic State group massacre of hundreds of army cadets in 2014, judicial officials said Thursday. The massacre, one of the…

Analyse des difficultés rencontrées par les collaborateurs et les recruteurs lors de la mise en place d’une politique de cooptation en entreprise.