Activist says not all identify as Khoi

A PORT Elizabeth writer and activist has written an open letter to a group of Khoi activists who marched from Port Elizabeth to Bhisho to lobby for the removal of the term “coloured” from South African laws.

Dwayne Rockman, 26, said that after learning about the march, he felt the need to voice his opinion as someone who too was passionate about coloured heritage and culture.

While the memorandum was aimed to scrap the term, Rockman claimed it gave no clear indication as to what people of colour should be called if they did not wish to be identified as Khoi.

Rockman wants the demand to be retracted and amended.

Rockman’s “open letter to the Khoisan activists from a coloured” received much attention on social media, with many people agreeing with him.

“I am not at all against what they did, I support them with their fight for land claims – but if you are going to scrap a name that I identify with, then I have a problem with that.

“Every person has the right to their identity and even though they received over a million signatures to remove the term, they have not consulted the entire coloured population as to what they want to identify as.

“While I am aware that the term may have caused the generation before me tremendous suffering, I am of the opinion that the term has evolved,” Rockman wrote.

The group, which included MPL Christian Martin and Chief Khoisan SA, walked 300km last month to have the term Khoi added to the statutes and to have recognised.

Martin, who arrived at the legislature in a wheelchair after blistering his feet during the long walk, commended Rockman for taking a stand.

“It excites me when young people display their passion for a good cause and especially such a controversial one like this.

“I respect him for taking a stand and being proud of his heritage, but he cannot be selective when it comes to the benefits of it.”

Martin explained that after 1994, people of colour were afforded access to places such as tertiary institutions but being called coloured was still an oppressive term which restricted social access.

“It is not just about the terminology but the benefits too, and as the Khoi activists we always have respected those who want to identify as coloured because it is their right.”

In his letter, Rockman stated that he was proud to be coloured because he was a mixture of various races and felt it unfair to identify as Khoi. — the indigenous people’s heritage