A controversy surrounding racial identity has recently surrounded South African singer, Tyla. The issue started during an interview on The Breakfast Club where the host, Charlamagne Tha God, asked Tyla to clarify her identification as a “coloured” person.
Following the question, Tyla seemed uncomfortable and turned to her team. Her off-camera representative requested to skip the question, to which the host Charlamagne agreed. Although he noted that the “awkward” moment would remain in the final video.
After the release of the interview, people have spun a narrative of Tyla denying her black heritage.
In response to this, Tyla posted an explanation to her social media accounts to clarify the whole situation.
She wrote, “Never denied my Blackness, I don’t know where that came from,”
“I’m mixed with Black/Zulu, Irish, Mauritian/Indian, and Coloured. In South Africa, I would be classified as a Coloured woman and in other places, I would be classified as a Black woman. Race is classified differently in different parts of the world.”
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Furthermore, Tyla explained how she navigates her identity as a mixed-race woman through her own understanding of race relations. She said that she has never denied her Blackness and that she identifies as Coloured in South Africa and as a Black woman in other contexts.
The term “coloured” holds a specific meaning in South Africa. It is often used as a way to describe people of mixed-race ancestry. That is, people with a mix of African, European, and Asian descent.
In Tyla’s case, she comes from a multiracial family. Her father is from the East African country, Mauritius, although he has Indian roots. Her mother is from South Africa with some Irish ancestry.
In the United States, the term “coloured” is reminiscent of the era of Jim Crow laws. This time period enforced racial segregation and oppression of Black Americans post-slavery. And so, using the term could be seen as offensive to a certain group of people.
Tyla’s clarification brings up an ongoing online discussion on racial identity and cultural differences.
