In 1997, Thugwane passed up the world championships to concentrate on learning to read and write Zulu, his native language. Now he's running again, and his wife is helping him learn to read English-language newspapers. I decided to learn for my kids. With the courageous public admission that he was illiterate, Thugwane instantly became a symbol both of the progress South African blacks have made and of how far they still must go to achieve equality. Medicine labels and warning signs go unheeded.
Humiliation is common.
Ten bucks a year. For decades, the educational system catered to whites. Blacks often were taught only enough to be useful to white employers. School attendance became compulsory for white children in the early 1900s but for blacks only in 1994. Even now, shortages of teachers and textbooks plague schools in rural areas and urban townships where most blacks live.