‘Not white enough, not black enough’: On black theology and coloured identity in South Africa

Abstract

This article will suggest that the sentiments underlying the infamous phrase ‘not white enough then, not black enough now’, are of the wounds of colonial racism, the persistence of coloured-identity as exclusive (not white and not black), and a response to the perception of black-African exclusion of coloured people from democratic liberties. Considering this, the article will suggest that in terms of Christian theology, black theology is (remains) a suitable candidate to unpack the issues of coloured marginality and systematic exclusion. This reflection is therefore underpinned by the opinion that the phrase ‘not white enough then, not black enough now’ can be read as a theo-political statement. Thus, tensions surrounding coloured identity in a post-1994 South Africa could be constructively addressed by means of harvesting positive theological resources for articulating ‘colouredness’ from the reflection of local black theologians. Contribution: The underlying conviction is that black theology is a theology capable of encompassing the present-day experience of ‘colouredness’ in the South African context, in all its diversity and complexity.

Keywords

• phenomenology
• black theology
• coloured identity
• colouredness
• whiteness
• blackness.