My mother used to tell me, “I chose to have you because I wanted something to love and something that would love me unconditionally in return — and t… - Trevor Noah

Language, even more than color, defines who you are to people.

Language brings with it an identity and a culture, or at least the perception of it. A shared language says ‘We’re the same.’ A language barrier says ‘We’re different.’ The architects of apartheid understood this. Part of the effort to divide black people was to make sure we were separated not just physically but by language as well…The great thing about language is that you can just as easily use it to do the opposite: convince people that they are the same. Racism teaches us that we are different because of the color of our skin. But because racism is stupid, it’s easily tricked.

It didn't matter that there was a war on our doorstep. She had things to do, places to be.