CHAPTER 1 Sanitized Apartheid

Sanitized: made less offensive by eliminating anything unwholesome, objectionable, incriminating, etc.

Apartheid: a system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

As I walked – and crawled – through the cave passages, I bravely ignored my claustrophobia. Pushing through the fear paid off. Buried deep within the cave walls and floor, were the bones of the first human beings to walk the planet. Signs indicated where the remains were found and the estimated time-period of the civilization that lived there. The tour guide was casual. I was dumbstruck. I was in the , a World Heritage site not far from Johan- nesburg, , renowned as the location of humankind’s origins. The center focuses on the development of the human family over millions of years. In 1924, the first hominid, , was discovered here. The Caves, occupying one section of the site, is the longest and most continuous paleoanthropological excavation in the world. These caves’ fossil finds include the pre-human skull of “Mrs. Ples” and the complete skeleton of “Little Foot.” The tour included an historical overview tracing the origins of the human species. During my visit, I learned things that not only changed my view of the world, but changed my view of myself. As I made my way out of the museum grounds, I had a breathtaking revelation:

The first human beings came from Africa! My ancestors are African! I am a descendant of Black people! I must be Black! But I’m not Black. What happened?

It’s complicated. In this book I share my experiences in a journey to uncover the mysteries of racial oppression. In this quest, I interact with communities in South Africa and the United States – with educators, students, shopkeepers, friends, and others; sometimes in topic-focused discussions, at other times simply mingling. I also unpack my own history and viewpoints on racial issues. I attempt to weave his- torical and theoretical perspectives into the narrative. I believe this mixture of

© koninklijke brill nv, leideN, 2020 | DOI: 10.1163/9789004444430_001 2 chapter 1 the personal and the referential provides powerful fuel to propel the excursion. I ask the reader to bear with me as I shift gears on the ride.

1 The (Very) First Great Migration

1.1 The Color Palette Begins Why do some people have dark skin and others light skin? And why, in so many instances, do people of similar skin color cluster together in regions around the world? The science behind the phenomenon is explained on the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History website, in a section entitled “ Modern Human Diversity – Skin Color.”

As early humans moved into hot, open environments in search of food and water, one big challenge was keeping cool. The adaptation that was favored involved an increase in the number of sweat glands on the skin while at the same time reducing the amount of body hair. With less hair, perspiration could evaporate more easily and cool the body more effi- ciently. But this less-hairy skin was a problem because it was exposed to a very strong sun, especially in lands near the equator. Since strong sun exposure damages the body, the solution was to evolve skin that was permanently dark so as to protect against the sun’s more damaging rays. Melanin, the skin’s brown pigment, is a natural sunscreen that protects tropical peoples from the many harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) rays. UV rays can, for example, strip away folic acid, a nutrient essential to the development of healthy fetuses. Yet when a certain amount of UV rays penetrates the skin, it helps the human body use vitamin D to absorb the calcium necessary for strong bones. This delicate balancing act explains why the peoples that migrated to colder geographic zones with less sun- light developed lighter skin color. As people moved to areas farther from the equator with lower UV levels, natural selection favored lighter skin which allowed UV rays to penetrate and produce essential vitamin D. The darker skin of peoples who lived closer to the equator was important in preventing folate deficiency.1

As our ancestors migrated north they took different routes. While there are many theories as to how these migrations took place, there is consensus on some issues. The first group out of Africa left the continent 60,000 to 70,000 years ago. They journeyed through the Middle East via the Arabian Peninsula. From there, the path led to Asia, Europe and the Indian subcontinent. It was