menu_open
Sisonke Msimang

Sisonke Msimang

The Guardian

We use cookies to provide some features and experiences in QOSHE

More information  .  Close

Ms Understanding Racism often lands at your feet when you are unprepared. This column has allowed me to bring my best self to your questions

Dear readers, This will be my last Ms Understanding column and so, this week, I want to reflect on what the experience has meant to me. Ms...

01.12.2023 3

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Anyone can be a politician! Just follow these simple steps

17.11.2023 5

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Ms Understanding Am I being racist by saying people of colour can be racist? Isn’t racism towards white people a thing?

Dear Ms Understanding, So, my friend and I got into an argument earlier today. I’m white and she’s black, and I was explaining how I think...

17.11.2023 10

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Ms Understanding My community orchestra is all white. How can I make it more multicultural?

Dear Ms Understanding, I’m the chair of a large community orchestra. We don’t audition and we are a very welcoming family, from all walks...

27.10.2023 4

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Ms Understanding My Indigenous daughter is very intelligent but her school can’t – or won’t – see it. What do I do?

Dear Ms Understanding, My daughter is nine and of Torres Strait Islander descent. She has brown skin and fluffy hair. I have given the school...

13.10.2023 2

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Ms Understanding I feel ashamed of myself. I know that ‘they all look the same to me’ is a horrible form of racism

Dear Ms Understanding, I’m a white European woman in my late 70s who was brought up to know that racism was wrong. This was pretty theoretical,...

06.10.2023 4

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Guardian Opinion cartoon Martin Rowson on Labour’s plans for asylum and refugees – cartoon

15.09.2023 6

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

Ms Understanding Help, I can’t tell if I’m being complimented or fetishized

Hi, About a year ago I moved to a European country with a largely white population and since then I have been so aware of my blackness and...

15.09.2023 5

The Guardian

Sisonke Msimang

7da1bc788ab33ef2744587b9af1e7db7