After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Celebrating our liberation
And a number of other things
Black is truly beautiful
Lamenting our enslavement
A taxonomy of different examples
Photosynthesis and oxygenation
Of racist minds
The use of elements
From historical vernacular styles
And often playful illusion,
To spread hatred of ebony complexion
Decoration and complexity
The blind megalomania
Of rigorous absolutism
Making black alien
Played with remarkable subtlety
And sophistication
Adolescent impartiality
Is nothing less
Than the fundamental dilemma
Portrayed with characteristic dreariness
Opportunity to satisfy curiosity
About foreign surroundings
And all that is black
Actions may be motivated
By youthful inexperience, yet, at the same time,
They clearly express an openness
Toward those who are totally "other"
Totally black, but dignified
This is in marked contrast
To naively lethargic fathers,
It is this fundamental stance
That allows the images
To unfold with such acute precision and intensity
Social extremes and contradictions
The story is seen from a human gaze,
From the viewpoint of a solitary soul
The lame thinker
Who not only devoted great attention to other protagonists,
But also to all of the minor characters,
That grace many scenes in life with a profound touch
Scene, such as the hungry beggar,
Who desperately knocks on the window of a restaurant,
The young bard, who wrote a romantic novel,
The strict, patriarchal father,
And his younger son, overcome with fear of the foreigner
And of black skin
Kaleidoscopic portrait of a society
Marked by huge economic and ideological differences
And one that is unmistakably caught up
In a process of transformation
Those who believe they have a ready-made solution for everyone
Must create a space in which we can come
To better understand totally the "other"
And love all hues of colour,
Yes all and especially black
The black man is gone but his rainbow lives on