I said that I had been impressed by Johannesburg and its flourishing suburbs, but sickened by the wide evidence of the exclusion of Blacks from the essential life of the community.

On the spur of the moment I decided to talk on the economics of waste, deliberately choosing that neutral approach to tease them out of their shells, to let them feel comfortable with the Honorary White and open up so that I might learn about them. Now here were these men, most of whom had in their time been bathed and comforted by black women, casually defending their inhuman policies with the spurious claim of “good relationships.” Spurious? They were completely sincere and convinced of their righteousness.Īfter lunch, I was formally introduced to the group and invited to address them. In the excerpt below, Braithwaite is invited to an exclusive Afrikaner club for wealthy businessmen who approve of apartheid policies against the black, primarily Zulu, population. On his visit, Braithwaite encountered poverty, suspicion, a lot of racism as he confronted the men who’d banned his books (“As we watched that film at a private showing, we were all irritated by the sight of that black teacher being so right all the time.”), was feted as a visiting artist but watched by the police, and rode in black–only train cars to squalid slums for non-whites. He eventually accepted, and wrote his moving and unique memoir of life as a black man visiting South Africa: Honorary White. It was granted, along with the status of “Honorary White,” which would allow him many of the rights of a white South African. So Edward Ricardo Braithwaite tentatively applied for a visa. But in 1973, the South African government unexpectedly lifted the ban on both the books and their author. This advocacy, as well as the content of his books, led his books (and the famous film adaptation of To Sir, With Love starring Sidney Poitier) to be banned in apartheid South Africa. Throughout it all, he fought not only for a place at the table in a hostile world, but advocated for the social advancement of people of color across the globe. Braithwaite-author, diplomat, teacher, and former RAF pilot-passed away on Decemat the age of 104.īest known for his autobiographical novel To Sir, With Love, Braithwaite was also a social worker, a UN ambassador, and a professor with a doctorate in Physics.

To Sir, With Love by E.R. Braithwaite