Being A "First Black" - Does it still mean anything?

For a while I've grappled with the cut-off date when we officially mark the end of celebrating the first black anything as an achievement in South Africa.

In the week that Siya Kolisi became the first black Springbok captain -- and doing so with victorious, pride-filled gusto -- I don't want to be the guy to piss on anyone's chips. But I have to ask, does being a first black anything still mean something these days?

If we are talking purely rugby, this week certainly showed the value of being a first black Springbok captain. Those lucky enough to witness the first Test between South Africa and England at the cauldron named Ellis Park spoke of having goosebumps as Siya Kolisi led out the Boks through the tunnel -- a routine complete with all the Zulu warriors and blazing flames that come with it.

The enormity of the occasion was not lost. Black rugby journalists spoke of finally having a "feeling of belonging" and that the move to have Kolisi lead the Boks could create a wave of unity around the sport in a way not too dissimilar to the 1995 World Cup when Francois Pienaar wore the famous No 6 jersey and Nelson Mandela came to embrace him at the winner's podium. We were all winners then - black and white.

I am curious, if we are all winners every time a first black is appointed into a prominent position in other spheres of South African society?

I'll use myself as the first example as to why I'm quizzical. I was the first black full-time editor of Kick Off magazine when I was appointed in October 2016, in 22 years (then) of the iconic football magazine's existence. Seems crazy, right? Zola Doda held the position on an acting basis, before he assumed the reins on a full-time basis following Kick-Off's merger with rivals Soccer Laduma.

I felt that mine was not an achievement worth celebrating purely because football is an inclusive space as far as race is concerned. Unless you're talking about media ownership, then that's a different ball-game altogether.

But what about other spaces where racial inclusivity is not taken for granted? Take the corporate sector, for instance. In an almost daily, quotidian basis there's a black something that's being announced in the news.

Recently, Nthabeleng Likotsi was named the first black female bank owner when the 33-year-old turned the Young Women in Business Network into the first black female-owned Mutual Bank in South Africa. Her achievement comes in at double the value, in that she cleared a path for black people as well as women in one felt swoop. Likotsi reminded me of Wendy Luhabe, who once told me during an interview for Sunday Times that "being the first came as second nature" to her. Luhabe was referring to the time she became the first female on the World Rugby board, rugby's global governing body. She is best known as the founder of the first female-owned company to list on the JSE.

Staying with banking, I was also fascinated by Sim Tshabalala's appointment as co-CEO in 2013. He had to share the leadership reins with Ben Kruger in what seemed like an exercise to demonstrate that black leaders needed their hands held and could not be fully trusted with the levers of power. Four years later Kruger stepped down and it appears that Tshabalala and Standard Bank are doing just fine. Getting Tshabalala a babysitter kind of soured the #BlackExcellence celebrations for me and Standard Bank will forever have missed a moment to demonstrate the sincerity of their transformation drive.

At the University of Cap Town, where "Rhodes Must Fall" protests avalanched into the "Fees Must Fall" movement that will forever change our relationship with education-thirsty youth, there was also a reminder of a momentous first black moment. Mamokgethi Phakeng was appointed to succeed Max Price as the Vice Chancellor. She was the first black woman to achieve a Phd in mathematics education way back in 2002.

The list of first blacks is long and I can't go through all the names, from our first black president, Nelson Mandela, to Sibusiso Vilane, the first black African to climb Mt Everest.

Why do we love "first blacks" so much (I'm speaking for black people here)? It could be, obviously, because of the generational suppression of excellence and all-round oppression suffered by black people worldwide.

But there could be another reason, one that could see it being hoisted aloft in celebratory manner for years to come: debunking the notion of black incompetence that colonisers drummed into the heads of black and white people. Black people -- whether they like it or not, whether Kanye West wants to acknowledge his blackness or not -- are in a never-ending war against the stereotype of intellectual inferiority. If 400 years of colonialism was a clock, the last 24 years of freedom in South Africa are the last five minutes.

In a sporting sense, it's celebrated to erase false notions that black people were not predisposed to playing sports such as cricket and rugby, or golf or tennis for that matter, that oppressive regimes have led many to falsely believe.

Thus, we could see the celebration of "first black", "first black woman" anything for years to come, as we plug the holes of the past. What can be drawn for the last week in rugby, is that there are white allies that have an innate understanding of what it means to have a Siya Kolisi -- condemned to poverty and struggle at a young but not predisposed to accepting it as a reality -- leading the Springboks.

I've had plenty of conversations about the past with Makhaya Jack, who captained Kwaru (KwaZakhele Rugby Union) and Desmond Booysen (one of the finest SARU wingers ever made). I took some time to listen to a long conversation "Sir Jack" and I had at his hotel room early in March 2018, two months before Kolisi was appointed captain by Rassie Erasmus.

Back then, Sir Jack lamented some of the choices made by former Springbok coach Allister Coetzee ("Toetie"), who was supposed to be the doyen oftransformation and trust in black leadership and management. Indeed Coetzee had a golden opportunity last year to appoint Kolisi as the first black Test captain after Warren Whiteley suffered an injury during the series against France last winter. He took the cowardly way out and chose Eben Etzebeth, Siya's deputy at the Stormers, to lead the nation.

Rassie, it appears, has an intuitive sense with these things. He brought Mzwandile Stick back into the Bok fold after he was castaway by Coetzee and scapegoated. Coincidentally, two months ago, Sir Jack said he would have done exactly what Rassie has done since taking over: appoint Siya Kolisi as captain and bring back Mzwandile Stick.

Sir Jack said: "Toetie got an opportunity, coming from the non-racial side (during his playing days), to realise all his aspirations he had for the Springboks since he was a child. It was a platinum opportunity for him to display whatever he wanted to display; to change the complexion of how the top rugby athlete should project themselves on the field of play.

"I would have made Kolisi captain of the side, if I was coaching the team when Toetie was. That would have been the first thing I would have done. The second would have been that Mzwandile Stick would have been my assistant coach and I would have never compromised on that."

This shows that Siya's appointment is not merely a transformation box-ticking exercise. Rassie understands that Kolisi is the one player that has the ability to get the whole team and the country to rally behind him. And may he chart the way forward for plenty others who want to follow in his footsteps, black or white.

Sbu

t: @sbu_mjikeliso

IG: @dapper_author