I am a brown body swimming in a white ocean.

Last night, I attended a school event where an entire grade took the stage - a full cohort of students. But as I looked closer, I noticed something. It was as if the spectrum of our nation’s future had been reduced to a single shade.

This is not just about diversity. It is about the deep and persistent socio-economic chasm that continues to define our society. A chasm so vast that many of us who benefit from it don’t even see it.

South Africa carries the weight of its past in ways both subtle and overt. The legacy of Apartheid is not just a story in our history books - it is lived every day. It is felt in the composition of classrooms, in boardrooms, and in doors that remain closed. It is present in who gets to take the stage and who remains in the audience.

Some will argue that change takes time - which it does. That progress is gradual - which it is. That history cannot be rewritten overnight - which is true. But if we wait for change to come passively, we are complicit in the stagnation of justice. The truth is, there are those who continue to run a race they never had to train for, while others are left without even a starting line.

Bridging this gap is not about taking away from those in front. It is about ensuring that those left behind have the chance to run alongside them. It is about lifting others as we rise, about dismantling the barriers that have persisted for far too long.

And yet, too many remain silent. Because silence is comfortable. Because silence is easy. Because silence perpetuates the misconception that inaction is a form of resolution.

But silence is not an option. Not if we truly believe in justice.

The uncomfortable conversations are the most important. The ones that force us to confront privilege. The ones that challenge us to do better. Because discomfort is not the enemy - complacency is.

Silence is not an option.

It’s time to bridge the gap. It’s time to use our privilege to elevate those who have been denied it, to transform advantage into opportunity for those who have yet to experience it.

Will you be part of the conversation? Or will you join the others in silence?

Rise By Lifting Others