My husband and I went to the beach one recent Sunday—a rare treat. It was a beautiful, hot summer day, and the beach was full of happy children, parents, teens, and toddlers of every shade of what Archbishop Desmond Tutu called our “rainbow nation.” Asian women swam demurely in long shorts and T-shirts alongside bathers clad in bikinis or fashionable Western swimwear. There was much frolicking, squealing, diving, bobbing, basking, and sand castle building.
I was filled with gratitude for the harmony and joy expressed. When I was a young holiday-maker, this happy multiracial scene was not possible in South Africa. Each race was restricted to a designated section of coastline. Restaurants, buses, schools, even churches were segregated. We have come a long way in South Africa, and I rejoice over the progress made.
There remain many challenges, however.
