Just like roaches, where there is one White person who says they’re a Black person trapped in the body of a Caucasian, there are bound to be a few more hanging around.
With all of the attention Rachel Dolezal received after she lost her post as the president of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP for lying about being Black, including a book deal, it’s not surprising that someone else would try their hand at this whole charade. And by charade, I mean capitalizing off of the idea that living among, working around or hanging with a considerable amount of Black people makes someone Black inside, even if they’re White on the outside. This year’s person is South African Anita Ronge, a DJ known by DJ DuchAz and, currently, Kasi Mlungu. She told the Times Live that she is Black and proud after riling people up by saying on social media that “I get rejected for not being black enough and being too black to be white … I’m #KasiMlungu & I’m proud.”
In her chat with the Times Live, her reasons for loving Black women and Black culture were pretty surface.
“African culture and African women are so amazing,” the 26-year-old said. “They own who they are. I don’t see that much of it with white women. I’m not generalising. What I’ve seen and experienced, even from the days when I was an FHM model, there’s just this need to be a part of this Instagram and magazine culture. Black women aren’t like that.”
And as for criticism, as many online have called her out specifically for cultural appropriation, Mlungu doesn’t really get it. She grew up in East Rand, an area filled with Black townships that played a part in conflicts between the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party during Apartheid. She witnessed and appreciated Black culture. To Mlungu, of course, that’s enough.
“What is wrong with me adopting African culture, something that is ours, that is local and proudly South African?” she asked.
“If you look at a lot of the people who were commenting they would have pictures of Beyoncé and that is appropriation of Western culture. If you can adopt Western culture, why can’t I adopt African culture?”
Still, images of her from a photo shoot, dressed in traditional attire while trying to pull off some interesting poses, spread across social media and drew the ire of quite a few people:
“Hunty, you’re African not black. Sit your white a– down.”
“Cultural appropriation. This is not cute. Stealing land wasn’t enough, now u wanna steal our culture?”
“Everybody wants to be black until it’s time to be black; I bet you don’t use your social media to voice the problems in the black community but you use out culture to get instagram famous; so please don’t ever say you not black enough coz you not black period!!!”
But, as always, there are people who are here for it, including someone who said that she’s “embracing the fact that it is ok to enjoy blackness and not be disgusted by it like most white ppl.”
However, Mlungu, or whatever she wants to call herself today, doesn’t solely identify as Black. She said herself in an interview with W24 that she’s basically trying to juggle her whiteness with an affinity for Black culture.
“I am just comfortable with my identity and the way I identify myself with both cultures,” she said. “I do not identify with one more than the other. Our country should be a no-colour country.”
But when asked by the publication whether she knew about the reality that during Apartheid, Blacks were forced to move in some of the townships she chooses to hang out in, as well as the one her family moved into, she responded by saying that at least everyone has a choice now.
“Anyone can do whatever they want to in this country, which is the great part of living in our country,” she said. “So, why not explore the entire South Africa? I feel like we should move past the past of South Africa.”
Yeeeeeeah. Hard pass.
If you feel so inclined, you can check out a few more of the images of Mlungu that have people talking below:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQKChnLBPAn/?taken-by=theduchaz&hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOZuxAhhY2b/?taken-by=theduchaz&hl=en
