From D.C. to Johannesburg, a teacher confronts pasts of profound racial inequality - The Washington Post: After teaching in D.C. public schools for five years, Waahida Tolbert-Mbatha moved to Johannesburg in 2011. Similarities between her new home and the one she left behind soon became strikingly apparent.
“You have this amazing black middle class, very strong, very visible, in both Johannesburg and D.C., and you also have a lot of black people living in poverty around them,” said Waahida, 33. “It messes with your mind in a lot of ways.”
Both cities have histories of profound racial inequality. But with large populations of well-to-do blacks, the economic divide could not be blamed solely on racism. Education — that’s what separates the blacks who have from those who have not.
So Waahida, who is from Louisville, and her South African-born husband, Thulani, who runs a tuberculosis research center in the city, began working on plans to open an independent school in Johannesburg by 2015. For guidance, they would draw on insights — about shortcomings as well as successes — from her teaching experience in the District.
