Nodumo: More Than Just Albino
Determined. Loyal. Angsty
Nodumo is from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Her Mum's family has Mozambican and Malawian heritage, too. Her father is Ndebele, but she grew up speaking Shona. But, Nodumo is here to share that she is more than just her skin. Read more about her below!
A regular day....
I slowly wake up when I am in the shower and decide what my day will look like and how I will look going about it. Picking and wearing my clothes is the best part of it. The rest passes in a flurry of live/ Skype meetings, studying or doing research for my job. I've become that millennial who forgets to eat dinner and sits at their laptop until 1am. But, I'm lucky to have friends who intersperse at least 10 minutes of every day with the best vibes.
About my skin....
I'm very proud of my black albinism. Only started feeling that way after experiencing really extreme opposition to it. If I can, I want to help other albino girls/women see/be proud of who they are, without having to go through the most to get there. As a black albino person, I constantly hand out biology classes in academic, professional and personal settings. It's exhausting, ya know? Respectability politics around albinism is something I've had to figure out in every country I've been to. There are quite a few. I've been made fun of, touched, poked, prodded, photographed, had stones thrown at me, had my blackness questioned. My whole life. It hurts me that my little albino nephew may go through the same, depending on the level of humanity that the society he's in allows him. And I haven't met too many melaninated black people who are affected by, or care much about albino killings, even in their own countries. My point is very few people care about issues that affect black albino people. I can't keep trying to convince people to care. But, in my capacity as a albino woman on these internets, I can make noise and take up the space MY PEOPLE have rarely been given :) Imma be here, being cute and a badass. Making people who should deal with their racism & discrimination uncomfortable with my indifference. Also, stop feeling sorry for albino people. Fuck your pity. Pressure your political authorities, schools, communities to protect us. And DONATE SUNSCREEN! OMG! YOU STAY HEARING THAT ALL WE NEED IS SUNSCREEN AND IT'S TRUE, DAMMIT. Back to my room voice. If your perception of albino people is shaped by oral histories that claim that I'm a witch/omen/not human... Read. You MUST stop saying incredibly problematic, shaming things like, "You have better skin than most albinos I know." Don't degrade my people. You MUST correct your friends and family when they say disgusting things to albino people who they just pass on the street. THERE IS NO RIGHT KIND OF ALBINO PERSON. We come in different shades, with different battle scars. You better respect that. To black people: Black albinos do NOT look alike. This is internal racism. Stop it right now. To people who have a problem with albino- blackness. I am black. Proudly, fiercely so. That is a you problem. And lastly, to all. AN ALBINO PERSON DOES NOT OWE YOU AN EDUCATION. EVER. They can choose to give you one or not. It's called agency.
Passions....
I'm passionate about giving people the tools and skills to solve their problems on their own terms, so human-centered design in social innovation is a keen interest of mine. Style and/or fashion is a big one; deciding how I present myself allows me to dismiss people's opinions about my albinism, and actually like how I look. Whenever I see those two interact (eg; in arts development) I feel so happy!
You should know....
My "don't fuck with me" face is mostly a defense mechanism. I'm a no-nonsense softy. I support black women taking up space where they know they deserve to be. And just being black women. Neither is easy, both are glorious.
