One day while I was scrolling through Instagram, I came across an account called Kidz of Biko. Upon opening the account, an array of posts varying from inspirational quotes about youth to portraits of African people are displayed throughout the feed. The account biography reads: “Your Black Friend’s Conscious. Youth Organization. The aim is to decolonize, educate and celebrate blackness. Founder: @khanyi_tshabz”. To me, meeting the creator of a youth organization aimed at African youth empowerment was worth pursuing.
The brilliant mind behind Kidz of Biko is the beautiful Khanysile (Khanyi) Boithabiso Tshabalala. Born and raised in Johannesburg, she is a fiercely patriotic South African. Attending a white dominant school and having a strongly Pan-Africanist family made her very aware of the double consciousness that was prevalent in her life. These juxta-positioning environments facilitated her own self-awareness. “I’ve always been very hyperaware of myself. So, I’ve always been very much aware of the things that I like what interests me, where I want to see myself, the type of people I want to surround myself with,” Khanyi explains. Her upbringing in South Africa and the cultural hybridity she experienced through her parents all contributed to her love for her country.
“You can’t be proud of who you are without being proud of your history, where you come from, your language and your culture. I consider all these things when thinking about South Africa.”
Despite her pride for her country, Khanyi has much to say about the chaotic present state of the country. “The political state (of South Africa) is a mess and this is one of the reasons Kidz of Biko was born. I really believe that young people are the future of our country and it’s so important that we start grooming each other for leadership because it is something that has lost its way”.
In her opinion, and one which I agree with, there are too few spaces which allow for the youth to engage in conversation about the state of the country and what the solutions are. She mentions the popular trope of the older generation - “you’re too young, you won’t understand”, which so much of South Africa’s youth has heard before.
Kidz of Biko finally went from being a mere thought to a reality in 2016. A proud African schoolteacher and Khanyi’s current mentor, Ms. Athambile Masola, allowed Khanyi and her peers to engage in “controversial” conversations during their breaks. It was during these conversations that Khanyi noticed that her hyperawareness of her blackness differed from that of her fellow black peers. What she describes as basic black history was unknown to them, yet they could readily recite knowledge about Western history. These break gatherings spread like wildfire; eventually inclusion in these conversations was opened to the entire school, and consequently, neighbouring schools. This alongside the national wide #FEESMUSTFALL protests ultimately led to the establishment of Kidz of Biko.
Her transition to Rhodes University to pursue a degree in humanities has only expanded the organization and widened its audience. The jump from the buzzing city of Johannesburg to the quiet and isolated Makhanda introduced a whole new agenda. “Completely different conversations are being held,” said Khanyi. Her focus during 2019 was to also get involved in community work which broadened her view of life for people in Makhanda.
“It became less of talking as an outsider and more talking from within,” because of her exposure to a variety of situations. 2019 also enabled her to focus on digitalizing Kidz of Biko through introducing a YouTube channel titled ‘Unfiltered’. This additional platform allows more people to share their opinion, and facilitates a larger conversation concerning topics that span beyond Makhanda and Johannesburg.
I, too, was one who wondered about the target audience of Kidz of Biko. Is it limited to black youth only? Khanyi was quick to dismiss this thought. “The reason why everything is directed at black people is because one, we are the majority and two, it’s because I feel like there’s a lot more of a Eurasia happening with young black kids because of apartheid and colonialism. People need to know where they come from and be proud of that. That is why it specifies black people but it’s not exclusive to one demographic”.
As a third year, Khanyi’s journey as a student is approaching its end, but her hopes forKidz of Biko is that it can be enrolled as a club at Rhodes University. “I want it (Kidz of Biko) to be so cemented that even when I’m not here, it will continue to encourage youth to speak. As for ‘Unfiltered’ I’d really like it to have an international reach”.
Khanyi hopes that people will realize that South Africa should be considered a First World Country. “I hate the term Third World. I always ask myself, in relation to what? According to Western societies. They’re the reason Africa is in the state it is in now. We have the land, we have the resources, we have the intellectuals to be considered First World,” she says. “We are aware of our history and its effect on our society today, but now it is time to start thinking of solutions”.
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