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Sandra Laing (born 26 November 1955) is a South African woman who was classified as
Coloured by authorities during the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era, due to her skin colour and hair texture, although she was the child of at least three generations of ancestors who had been regarded as
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
. At the age of 10, she was expelled from her all-white school, and the authorities' decisions based on her appearance disrupted her family and adult life.
Laing was the subject of the 2008 biographical dramatic film ''
Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
'', directed by Anthony Fabian, which won numerous awards.
[''Skin'' movie official website](_blank)
/ref>[''Skin'' film review]
''Mail & Guardian'', 21 January 2010. In addition, she is the subject of the documentaries ''In Search of Sandra Laing'' (1977), directed by Anthony Thomas for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, which was banned by the apartheid government of the time,
["Black Afrikaner" story to become film]
BBC News, 29 May 2003. ''Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey'' (2000), and ''Skin Deep: The Story of Sandra Laing'' (2009).
Early life
Susanna Magrietha "Sandra" Laing was born in 1955 to Susanna Margaretha "Sannie" (née Roux) (1920-2001) and Abraham Laing (1916-1988),
Afrikaners in
Piet Retief, a small conservative town in South Africa during the
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
era, when laws governed officially established social castes of racial classification. Her paternal grandparents were Alfred Laing (1874-1962) of Memel, Germany (now
Klaipėda, Lithuania) and Hester Sophia Goosen (1877-1949); her maternal grandparents were Adriaan Roux (1876-1967) and Susanna Magrietha Veldman (1886-1967), after whom Sandra was named. She had darker skin than other members of her family, which seemed to become more obvious as she grew older. Her parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents were all white, but Sandra displayed the physiognomy of African ancestors of earlier generations, perhaps from the 18th century or more recent.
Her family treated her as white, the same as their sons Adriaan and Leon, and together they all attended the Dutch Reformed Church.
When Laing was 10 years old and at an all-white boarding school, the school authorities expelled her
because of complaints from the parents of other students, based on her appearance: primarily her skin colour and the texture of her hair. They believed she was "Coloured", a term for mixed-race people.
She was expelled and escorted home by two police officers.
Sandra's parents fought several legal battles to have her classified as white, based on her documented ancestry through them. Her father underwent a blood-typing test for
paternity
Paternity may refer to:
*Father, the male parent of a (human) child
*Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law
* ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds
* "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
in the 1960s, as
DNA tests
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...
were not yet available. The results were compatible with his being her biological father. Although such tests are extremely imprecise due to the small number of blood types that most people can have, and the tests could not prove that he was her father, at least they did not disprove it.
Later years
After the publicity, Laing found herself shunned by the white community, although she was re-classified as white again in 1966 when the law was changed to allow a person to be classified as white if both parents are classified as white. She attended a Coloured boarding school away from her family and became immersed in the non-white world. Her only friends were the children of black employees. At the age of 16, Laing eloped to
Swaziland with Petrus Zwane, a black South African who spoke Zulu. She was jailed for three months for illegal border-crossing. Her father threatened to kill her for the marriage and broke off contact with her. They never met again.
Although she and her husband had two children, who were classified as "Coloured", she was threatened with losing them unless she also was classified as "Coloured", as a white parent could not raise Coloured children. At the age of 26, she arranged for the change in race classification officially, although her father had refused permission earlier. Except for secret trips to see her mother when her father was out of the house, Laing was estranged from her family and struggled to survive economically.
When her parents moved away from Piet Retief, the clandestine visits were no longer possible. Laing lost contact with her family completely.
Laing and her husband separated due to the pressures they were under, and she put their children into government care for a period. Years later she married again, to Johannes Motloung, a Sotho-speaking man. They had three children together and she was able to reclaim her first two; all are now grown and with families of their own. Trying to reconcile with her family in the 1980s, Laing learned that her father had died and her mother Sannie refused to see her.
In 2000 the ''
Johannesburg Times'' tracked down Laing to learn about her years since the end of apartheid. The newspaper helped Laing find her mother, who was in a nursing home by that time. Sandra and Sannie reconciled and shared time together before Sannie's death in 2001.
The publicity helped Laing, her husband and family gain new housing; they now live in Leachville, new estates east of Johannesburg. In 2009, it was reported that Laing's brothers still refused to see her. She has said in interviews with ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' and ''Little White Lies'' that she continued to hope they would some day have a change of heart.
Representation in other media
Documentary films have been made about Laing:
* ''In Search of Sandra Laing'' (1977), BBC, directed by Anthony Thomas (released during the apartheid era, this film was banned from distribution in South Africa)
* ''Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey'' (2000)
* ''Skin Deep: The Story of Sandra Laing'' (2009)
and a dramatic film:
* ''
Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...
'' (2008) based on Laing's life story, directed by
Anthony Fabian and starring
Sam Neill
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. Neill's near-50 year career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he has been regarded as one o ...
,
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...
, and
Sophie Okonedo
Sophie Okonedo (born 11 August 1968) is a British actress and narrator. The recipient of a Tony Award, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, three BAFTA Television Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She began her f ...
.
based on the book:
* ''When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race'' by Judith Stone
See also
*
Atavism
In biology, an atavism is a modification of a biological structure whereby an ancestral genetic trait reappears after having been lost through evolutionary change in previous generations. Atavisms can occur in several ways; one of which is whe ...
*
Torna atrás
Torna atrás () or Tornatrás is a term once used in 18th century ''Casta'' paintings to portray a mixed-race person (mestizaje, mestizo) who showed phenotypic characteristics of only one of the "original races", that is, white, black, Amerindian, ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
''Sandra Laing: A Spiritual Journey (2000)''- Journeyman Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laing, Sandra
1955 births
Living people
People from Mkhondo Local Municipality
Afrikaner people
Apartheid in South Africa
History of South Africa
Social constructionism
South African people of Scottish descent