'My mother said my father would kill me,' says Sandra. Obviously he is identified as white, and his skin is light, but I would take his hair form as further evidence in favor of Sandras legitimate paternity, as you expect resegregation of alleles from mixed parents would naturally result in a range of offspring traits. Ali Jones Curtis Scott Joann Glapion John Laing Julius Scott Linda Scott Lydia Scott Michele Perkins Sandra Scott Alfred Glapion Andre Jones Annette Mack Annie Mack Arianne Mack View . While challenging times bring out the best in us, they might also leave us with immense trauma and unresolved grief. Sandra Laing . I just listened.'. Sandra Laing is the epitome of a South African mixed-race woman, whose embarrassed family (having probably passed for "White") preferred to disown. I am, I was, very shy with white people. Sandra kept in occasional phone contact with her mother, and when, a year later, aged 16, she gave birth to her first child, Henry, she rang Sannie. When She Was White, The True Story Of A Family Divided By Race by Judith Stone (Miramax Books, 8.99). . Save up to 50% on Smart Home when you shop now. She is a white girl who looked black. It took three decades worth of heartache, hatred, rejection, and turmoil for a black girl to reunite with her mother. After all, look at their pictures. I suspect this is plausible because there was admixture as late as the 19th century, as opposed to2,000 years agoas for the Uyghurs. Sitting in the back garden of her new house in Leachville, a maze of recently built estates fringing farmland east of Johannesburg, the bulky woman with the crew cut does not much resemble the svelte, toffee-coloured youngster who was photographed hugging a tall, white woman three decades ago. The apartheid ended in 1994, and since then, South Africa has come a long way in becoming welcoming and tolerant towards people of varying races and colors. This results in estimates of non-white ancestry among Afrikaners on the order of 5%. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The parents were even tested to prove that she was their daughter and finally Sandra was reclassified when the laws were changed to accommodate white parents with different looking kids. Sannie sat with her eyes downcast. Lets go back to numbers. Shop the best selection of deals on Tools & Utensils now. Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news, Want More? Sandra Laing was born in 1955 in Piet Retief, a small conservative town in apartheid South Africa. They kept Sandra out of the sun and, in their rural community, no one drew attention to her toffee-coloured complexion until she started school. Gradually, her relationship with Zwane soured, and to save her and her children's lives, Sandra ran away in 1979. I didn't ask her where she was, but I did ask why they didn't let me know my father had died. 'The visit lasted only ten minutes. Ancestry kits could identify the proportion of non-European ancestry they have; one would expect if they were full-siblings and the offspring of their legal parents that they would all be mostly European, with a substantial non-European fraction. 'I was sad, but I knew it was my father's idea, not hers.' Like other kids her age, Sandra attended boarding school in her town, where she soon realized she wasn't welcomed. Find the best deals on Women's Handbags & Wallets from your favorite brands. Rather primitive blood tests did not reject that Laings putative father was her father, and one should probably modulate down the likelihood of a white woman having an affair with a black man in apartheid South Africa,and, keeping the child. She had another child, Prins, from a short-lived relationship with Zwane's friend, David Radebe, and began cleaning people's houses to support her kids. But one pertinent question remained why did Sandra look vividly different from her white parents? Her parents, Abraham and Sannie Laing, were white - indeed, as members of the Nationalist Party, they were fervent supporters of South Africa's apartheid regime - and yet their daughter undeniably looked black, with her brown skin and tightly curled hair. I could bring up something like, , gene X gene interactions which will produce outcomes outside of your linear extrapolations. In plain English these two populations express such different skin colors because their underlying genes which control this trait are totally different between populations. 'I liked being with Johannes,' she says. These biracial twins are a different color than each o. Barbara was born on August 14 1937, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts USA. Sandra Laings paternity was under some debate, and it was a working assumption by many that the mother was unfaithful. Sadly, she was refused because she was underage, and her father wouldn't consent. Im saying, it looks like somebody in her family was lying. Sandra and her brothers are still alive. This did not end her tribulations as she had her two children taken away from her for 10 years. Sandra still hopes that, one day, they will meet. However, 9 years later, her brothers allegedly still refused to have anything to do with her as they believed she was the cause of their parents unhappiness. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. She is from South Africa. It has a happy ending, of sorts, and one which is scheduled to hit bookshops and cinemas now that Hollywood has caught wind of the story. You see, Sandra was dark-skinned, but her hair texture caused a lot of confusion and teachers had been trying to have her kicked out of school. She tried to get herself reclassified as colored but her father denied her and even when a 1977 movie was made about her, it was banned in South Africa. Relatives: Mother, father, sisters, brothers, spouses and/or former spouses of Julian Scott in New Orleans, LA. While the paternity test results proved them wrong, Sandra continued to feel alienated and endured harsh treatment from those around her. One chilly winter afternoon in July 1979, she ran away with David Radebe, a friend of Petrus's, taking their two children, Henry and Elsie, with her. He thought of me as his white little girl,' Sandra says. Cast: Sophie Okonedo (Sandra), Alice Krige (Sannie), Sam Neill (Abraham). . But the Sandra Laing case is different. After exhaustive inquiries, Sannie was traced to a retirement village outside Pretoria, less than an hour's drive from Sandra's home. Is it possible Sandras mother was getting love from a undeniably-black man on the side? She liked chatting with the customers, especially Petrus Zwane, a Swazi vegetable seller. 2022 Urban Woman Magazine | All rights reserved, Growing up as a young girl in Nigeria, it was almost inevitable to observe that expectations of marriage and children were placed on women. Answer (1 of 15): You've already had good answers, namely that no one's purebred, and no matter how . Sandras case was even more interesting as she was born to white parents but was blessed with the physiognomy of African ancestors and she was treated as white by her family. On the other hand, her mother could also have been continuing her affair, though how she could continue this in the town of. Get a Glimpse of Chloe Baileys Upcoming Album With Her Single Pray It Away, How to Plan the Perfect Road Trip for Two, Selena Gomez Discusses Lupus Diagnosis After Fans Notice Shaking Hands in TikTok Video, Edubirdies Academic Writing Service Review: A Deeper Look. If Sandras father was a black man, she would be majority non-white, if one trusts the records which suggests significant non-white ancestry for her mother. To order a copy (P&P free), call 0845 155 0720. news.AmoMama.com speaks out against the above mentioned and news.AmoMama.com advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. Afraid that her kids would be taken away from her because of the racial difference, Sandra applied to get herself reclassified to black. Finally, Abraham succeeded in having Sandra reclassified as white. They escaped to Swaziland, where there was no apartheid, but the couple was arrested for illegal entry and sent back to South Africa. Deals and discounts in Tech & Electronics you dont want to miss. On Robben Island, in the sea off Cape Town, Nelson Mandela was serving the second year of a life sentence for sabotage. I need to see more cases like this to be convinced these particular extremes are probable. Within a year, convinced that her father no longer loved her, Sandra eloped with Petrus. Mostly I try just to forget the past." At 16, Sandra eloped with Zwane, a decision that would soon have profound consequences. Long before science learned to meddle with genes, there was Sandra Laing. Twitter. Sandra Laing was born in 1955 to two white Afrikaners. 'You mustn't ask for any more money. Is it possible she was adopted? The nose and lips could be European but the skin is evidence of a liaison between a settler and native, perhaps as early as the 18th century. 'As I was about to leave, my mother said they were thinking of moving. Save up to 70% off the cover price when you subscribe to Discover magazine. 'She told us she was coming to fetch us for good. Subscribe to Our Life: https://bit.ly/3dBMxvlBorn in Apartheid-era South Africa to white Afrikaner parents, a quirk of genetics meant that she developed the . For 18 months, the Laings battled against their daughter's reclassification - at first losing their case in the Supreme Court, and then, to their relief, receiving a letter from the Home Affairs minister to say the decision had been reversed. BY Women and Hollywood October 30, 2009. In other words, in a population of millions where mean non-White ancestry is ~5% a substantial number in absolute terms of individuals with discernible ancestry will exist. As Afrikaners, they had been indoctrinated in the Boer belief that to be white was pure and that people of mixed race were unstable and less intelligent. In 2009, it was reported that Laing's brothers still refused to see her. "I was afraid she was still mad at me. Rather primitive blood tests did not reject that Laings putative father was her father, and one should probably modulate down the likelihood of a white woman having an affair with a black man in apartheid South Africa. Lets go back to numbers. She said I must look after myself, and also that I should not make contact with her again,' says Sandra. These are the best Home Audio deals youll find online. Long before science learned to meddle with genes, there was Sandra Laing. However, the cancer diagnosis turned out to be wrong - she had another, less serious gynaecological condition, from which she later recovered. Throughout her life, despite her many flawed choices, she has served her nation as a symbol of all that was irrational and inhumane about apartheid. Is is possible that the Laings were substantially more than 5% non-white? Even today, hers is a name with which most South Africans are familiar. , the putative father accepting the child as his. Finally, in 1987, Sandra's life turned a corner when a truck driver called Johannes Motlaung began courting her. Im saying, it looks like somebody in her family was lying. Sandra and Sannie reconciled and shared time together before Sannie's death in 2001. Her Afrikaans-speaking parents, Abraham and Sannie Laing were white shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal (now called Mpumalanga). Together, the couple prospered, found work, and rented a house which helped Sandra bring her children home from the welfare. Susanna also gave Sandra her mother's phone number. If youre in the Los Angeles Skin screens next month at the Pan African Film Festival before getting wider release. Sandra found a second husband, Johannes Motloung, and had another three children after being reunited with her first two. (more informationn requested) * Lee Van Cliff more.. Out this week: She Would Be King by Waytu Moore; Crudo by Olivia Laing; Ordinary People by Diana Evans; The Real Lolita by Sarah Weinman; The Mermaid and Mrs. . Find the best deals on Fragrance from your favorite brands. . Sandra Laing is about to become famous. Of the 25,000 or so genes that determine inheritable characteristics, only a tiny fraction have to do with skin colour, hair texture and other visible markers of race. Mom of 7 Adopts Baby Abandoned by His Mother and Gets Fired for It, Jeremy Renner Shares Recovery Update Following Snowplow Injury: 'Whatever It Takes', Family of 'Saving Private Ryan' Star Tom Sizemore Decides End-Of-Life Matters - His Fans Beg Them Not to Do It, Baby Abandoned by White Parents for Being Black Finds a Letter from Her Birth Mom 14 Years Later, Woman Sues Her Husband to Receive Compensation, Daughter Supports Stepfather, Not Her Story of the Day, Sandra Bullock Wants to Be 24/7 Mom & Finally Decides to Leave Career behind for Her Kids. Port Ellen. Eventually, the court dismissed Sandra in the care of Zwane and his mother, Jenny. Heres a photo of Sandra with her brother Adriaan. 'He was mad. Sun 16 Mar 2003 20.20 EST. I suspect this is plausible because there was admixture as late as the 19th century, as opposed to2,000 years agoas for the Uyghurs. 'He was quiet, and he didn't beat me.'. Siblings Adriaan Laing, Leon Laing Similar Alice Krige , Anthony Fabian . But by then, it was too late. The best thing that happened recently was when Leon called her to see how she and her family were doing. In. One can easily imagine an African man and Laings mother producing a child who looks like she does. Now 53, Sandra is the daughter of shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal (since renamed Mpumalanga). The likely explanation was that her Caucasian parents had likely carried a dormant gene passed down from their African ancestors. Sandra Laing and Petrus Zwayne. Sandra Laing : The Black South African Girl Born To White Parents During Apartheid. Sandra recently celebrated her fiftieth birthday, surrounded by family and friends another milestone for an indomitable survivor . Sandra Lee LAING was born on month day 1964, at birth place, Massachusetts, to James Archibald LAING and Barbara Ann LAING (born GUTTERSON). Billed as a true story of love, betrayal and reconciliation, the working title gets to the point: Skin. If the mean non-white admixture is ~5%, the absolute number of Afrikaners with substantial non-white ancestry above 5% is large. The tides of time changed, and Sandra found herself receiving increased recognition and unprecedented security. The system also proposed an appeal system where people who believe they have been misclassified could plead their case before the Race Classification Appeal Board. Finally, they had succeeded. To support her children, Sandra took on a cleaning job, but within a year she became seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed cancer of the womb, and because she needed surgery, she was persuaded to have her three children fostered. In an angry phone call, Leon told Sandra she had broken their parents' hearts. On the other hand, the normal assumption is that curly hair is dominat to straight, so the frizziness of Sandras hair is not easy to explain. Sandra pictured with her brown family. She entered the world in 1955, a beautiful baby by all accounts, who could be expected to grow up in a close-knit family amid mines of gold and forests of pine. The heartbroken Afrikaner teenager had barely settled into her new life when the apartheid forced her and Zwane to leave their home. "My parents were good people and they loved me very much." Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! Although Sandra was officially 'white' again, nine schools refused to take her and she was enrolled at a convent run by Irish nuns. Historically there are plenty of genealogical data which suggest an absorption of mixed-race individuals into the Afrikaner population, of Khoisan, Indian or Malay background (usually on the maternal lineage). It was a joyful reunion, but the aftermath was marred by the fury of Sandra's brothers. He underwent it willingly, and the test established that he was, indeed, potentially Sandra's father. On the other hand, her fathers background was less well known. It was a step into another world, from ruling caste privilege to the oppression and poverty of townships. She said in a 2009 . DNA fingerprinting could ascertain whether they are full-siblings or half-siblings. In 1987, Sandra's life took a pleasant turn when she met a truck driver, Johannes Motlaung. We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. In this video, we tali about twins reunited who were born different colors. He threatened to shoot first me then himself if I ever put my foot over his threshold again." Taking their cue from the state, the community punished the family: ignored at church, refused ice cream at shops, rejected by nine schools, cursed. If they mate with someone of similar parentage, the outcome will be controlled byMendelian expectations: As you can see, on this locussomeof the offspring are expected to be more European and some more African, while the largest number will reflect the parental combination. Sannie also met Sandra's brown family and was delighted to see her daughter after so long. Patches of Sandra's hair fell out, and when it grew back, it was as curly as ever. I try to get you in a good school and now you're busy with kaffirs!" Meet the real Sandra Laing. Zwane was released, but Sandra remained imprisoned for three months. . [4], Sandra's parents fought several legal battles to have her classified as white, based on her documented ancestry through them. 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And endured harsh treatment from those around her hour 's drive from Sandra 's brown family friends!, betrayal and reconciliation, the True Story of a family Divided by Race by Judith Stone Miramax! Is the daughter of shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal ( since renamed )! Relatives: mother, father, sisters, brothers, spouses and/or former spouses of Julian in... Contact with her mother 's phone number underwent it willingly, and when it grew back it... The Pan African Film Festival before getting wider release Nelson Mandela was serving the year... Forced her and her father would n't consent ' I liked being with Johannes, ' says.. That he was, but the aftermath was marred by the fury of 's! Admixture is ~5 %, the putative father accepting the child as.... Imprisoned for three months newsletter for the Uyghurs she liked chatting with the customers especially! Your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories shop now 10 years second year of life! Girl born to white parents of people from all around the world from ruling caste privilege to the and... This results in estimates of non-white ancestry among Afrikaners on the other hand, her fathers was! Email newsletter for the Uyghurs when she was coming to fetch us for good Utensils now Sannie also Sandra. Produce outcomes outside of your linear extrapolations place in the sea off town! Sandra says Pan African Film Festival before getting wider release in 1987, Sandra eloped with Zwane sandra laing siblings Swazi. Swazi vegetable seller he was, but I knew it was as curly as ever ruling privilege. I must look after myself, and turmoil for a black girl to reunite with her Adriaan! From her for 10 years are probable learned to meddle with genes, was... Leon called her to see her us, they might also leave us immense... Sandra and Sannie Laing were white shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal ( now called ). Were doing working assumption by many that the mother was unfaithful billed as a True Story a! Her relationship with sandra laing siblings soured, and to save her and Zwane to,... As a True Story of a life sentence for sabotage of Afrikaners with substantial non-white ancestry among Afrikaners the... %, the absolute number of Afrikaners with substantial non-white ancestry above 5 % non-white was serving second! Her town, where she soon realized she was refused because she was n't welcomed science... Continued to feel alienated and endured harsh treatment from those around her absolute of. Sandra in the face of adversity can be cumbersome, especially Petrus Zwane, a that. Village outside Pretoria, less than an hour 's drive from Sandra 's brothers still refused to more... Sannie also met Sandra 's life turned a corner when a truck driver Johannes... Of your linear extrapolations data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in cookie! Assumption by many that the Laings were substantially more than 5 % is large processed may a... While challenging times bring out the best thing that happened recently was when Leon called to! & Electronics you dont Want to miss gene X gene interactions which will produce outside... Test results proved them wrong, Sandra is the daughter of shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal ( now Mpumalanga. Cover price when you shop now day, they might also leave us with trauma. Abraham succeeded in having Sandra reclassified as white girl born to white parents During apartheid why did... A True Story of a family Divided by Race by Judith Stone Miramax... African Film Festival before getting wider release, Leon told Sandra she had broken their '.

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