An article I wrote last week, ‘The Complexity of the Coloured Identity in Southern Africa’, has sparked considerable debate. That article was more a response to the reaction of Americans, especially African Americans, to South African singer Tyla identifying herself…

In this article, southern Africa is used to refer to South Africa and Namibia because of the two countries’ intertwined histories. Racial and ethnic categorisation took specific patterns in both countries because of the apartheid policy of racial segregation. These…