Black & White

-18-

C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N

Soweto
2 April 1976

Four days later and Mrs Dlamini has taught us all we need to know about debating, the rules and the procedures.

"Today, I will be selecting speakers then I'll briefly explain your roles and what you have to do. The debate consists of five rounds. The first round is on the 18th of April and five motions will be discussed. This means that we need five teams and each team will have three speakers." Mrs Dlamini explained.

We all nodded.

"For now I will only be selecting speakers for the first round on the 19th of April so that we can start preparing." Mrs Dlamini continued.

"The first three speakers for the first motion are.....Lesedi, Antoinette and Ayize."

Lesedi, Antoinette and I exchanged smiles while the rest of the class clapped for us.

Once the class was silent Mrs Dlamini continued, "Ayize, you will be the first speaker. Lesedi will be the second speaker and Antoinette will be the third speaker."

"I knew that you were going to be the first speaker." Mbuyisa whispered from beside me.

I smiled at him. I turned around in my seat when I felt a tap on my shoulder. A grinning Khumo appeared, "Do you know what this means?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What?"

"Since you are the first speaker for the first motion on the first round, this means that your speech will basically be the opening speech for our school." Khumo said cheerfully.

I felt something drop in my stomach and my smile slowly turned into a frown.

My speech was going to be the first impression of my school. It was going to be the most important part of our debate.

Before I could respond to Khumo, Mrs Dlamini had started talking again. "The next three speakers for the second motion are....Mbuyisa, Bhekisizwe and Bongi."

The class applauded again.

"Mbuyisa will be the first speaker, Bongi, you will be the second speaker and Bhekisizwe, you are the third speaker."

"Congratulations." I whispered to Mbuyisa, who didn't seem to be as nervous as I was.

"Thank you. I'm actually glad we both got selected for the first round. This means we'll be able to practice together and help each other with our speeches."

I smiled in return while Mrs Dlamini continued to select speakers for the first round.

"And those are our 15 speakers for the first round. For the next few days we will only be focusing on these 15 speakers. After the first round is done and dusted, we will select the next speakers for the next round...that's if we make it to the next round, but I trust you guys." Mrs Dlamini explained.

"Does this mean that the rest of us don't have to come to practice anymore?" Khumo asked, with excitement laced in his voice.

"No, Khumo. Everyone has to be present so that we can learn together. While I prepare these 15 speakers, the rest of you will have to take down notes and learn from them."

I turned around to see Khumo dramatically collapse in his chair.

Once all questions were asked and answered, Mrs Dlamini began to explain our roles as speakers. As speakers, we all had very specific roles.

"Okay, can all the first speakers raise their hands." Mrs Dlamini began.

Five hands immediately rose to the air, mine included.

"As first speakers it is your job to set up the debate clearly. You guys must be able to explain what issues and arguments your entire team will be dealing with in the course of the debate. You need to use explanations and examples to build good and strong arguments that will demonstrate why your team is right. It is also your responsibility as first speakers to write reply speeches."

"Ayize, unlike the other first speakers, your speech is the most crucial one. You are the first speaker for our entire school. Your speech will prepare the audience for our debate." Mrs Dlamini spoke, looking at me. Her eyes crinkled at the edges and her lips slowly turned upwards.

While the corners of my mouth turned upwards, in order to smile back at Mrs Dlamini, the rest of my face remained still.

"And one last reminder before we leave," Mrs Dlamini spoke. "Debating speeches are speeches. And just like any normal speech, you will need an introduction, body and a conclusion. What are introductions for?"

"To grab the attention of the audience." We all said in unison.

"And a conclusion?" She asked

"It explains why your speech was important." We replied

"Which makes your speech more....?"

"Engaging and persuasive."

"Good. Clearly you guys have been listening in class. Well, that's all for today. I will see you guys tomorrow." Mrs Dlamini smiled at us before dismissing us.

As we walked home that afternoon, the boys and I talked about our future and what we wanted to be. Mbuyisa wanted to be an Archaeologist. Khumo wanted to be a famous soccer player. And I wanted to be a lawyer. Even though our future was in the hands of white supremacists, it was still okay to dream. To dream like apartheid didn't exist