Racial category membership as resource and constraint in everyday interactions.

Abstract

The anti-apartheid struggle was characterised by tensions between the opposing principles of non-racialism (as exemplified by the Freedom Charter) and racialism (as exemplified by Black Consciousness). While non-racialism has become a central value in post-apartheid South Africa, tensions remain between the ANC government‘s long-standing commitment to non-racialism and its continued use of race-conscious policies and appeals to black nationalism. These tensions are also reflected in the writings of social scientists, who have questioned how we might "address a rejection of the actual 'existence' of races as well as the overwhelming existence of the social construct in having shaped – and still shaping – the life chances of citizens" (Maré 2001:80; cf. Posel 2001b:75-76). While questions of this nature are clearly important and complex matters for policymakers and social scientists to grapple with, I show in this paper that they are also lively concerns for ordinary people in South Africa – and that an examination of everyday interactions in South Africa can provide illuminating insights.