This story will shock you! But her parents refused to acknowledge what was in front of them. Her unique life has sparked a lot of interest leading to long column inches, and even movies and documentaries. She remains the one prepared to carry the blame for a family tragedy that was far beyond her control. 'My father told me I was white. One can easily imagine an African man and Laings mother producing a child who looks like she does. if both Laings are physically European in appearance, where exactly are those African genes which re-express in Sandra? 'The visit lasted only ten minutes. The tight black curly hair and ever-darkening skin was noticeable to all and Sandra remembers being told by her mother to avoid the sun. After exhaustive inquiries, Sannie was traced to a retirement village outside Pretoria, less than an hour's drive from Sandra's home. An inner door opened and a nurse appeared, pushing an old woman in a wheelchair. Her Afrikaans-speaking parents, Abraham and Sannie Laing were white shopkeepers from the Eastern Transvaal (now called Mpumalanga). She said in a 2009 interview, At first I was very angry of White people and angry of the apartheid government for [making me choose to be a different race other than my parents], but I decided that it doesnt help to be angry. In 2000 the Johannesburg Times tracked down Laing to learn about her years since the end of apartheid. On the other hand, her mother could also have been continuing her affair, though how she could continue this in the town ofPiet Retiefafter Sandras birth god only knows. For four years, teachers and the parents of other pupils at her all-white primary school had fought to have her expelled on the grounds that she was of mixed race. Shop our favorite Makeup finds at great prices. Sandra Laing was born in 1955 to two white Afrikaners. This is a small fraction, but not trivial. But the Sandra Laing case is different. I, Sandra Joanne Glover was born in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on September 2, 1943. Get unlimited access for as low as $1.99/month, Sandra Laing: Born Black with White Parents. Long before science learned to meddle with genes, there was Sandra Laing. Across the total genome the ancestrally distinctive elements will not differ much between siblings because the error of, decreases as you increase the number of trials (thinking of each gene as a trial). Eventually, the court dismissed Sandra in the care of Zwane and his mother, Jenny. I married my husband, James Richard Laing on July 10, 1965, becoming Sandra Joanne Laing. Afraid that her kids would be taken away from her because of the racial difference, Sandra applied to get herself reclassified to black. [4], Although she and her husband had two children, who were classified as "Coloured", she was threatened with losing them unless she also was classified as "Coloured", as a white parent could not raise Coloured children. Sandra Laing (born 26 November 1955) is a South African woman who was classified as coloured by authorities during the apartheid era, due to her skin colour and hair texture, although she was the child of at least three generations of ancestors who had been regarded as white. I had to learn to go on with my life and forget what happened. Her paternal grandparents were Alfred Laing (18741962) of Memel, Germany (now Klaipda, Lithuania) and Hester Sophia Goosen (18771949); her maternal grandparents were Adriaan Roux (18761967) and Susanna Magrietha Veldman (18861967), after whom Sandra was named. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. or debate this issue live on our message boards. At the first sight of Sandra no one, not the nurse, her mother, father or neighbours would admit the obvious. 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). Well, we know that individuals who are 25% African in ancestry can pass as white. Please subscribe to our newsletter. In the communal showers, her tormentors would say: 'Look, she's dirty all over!'. (confirmed later by their ostracism of their daughter when she entered into a relationship with a black man). Even today, hers is a name with which most South Africans are familiar. Two policemen escorted the 10-year-old home. Local parents began to take their children out of the school, and the principal wrote to the education authorities declaring himself certain that Sandra was of mixed blood. advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. During the height of the apartheid crisis in the 80s, Sandra allegedly tried to contact her family, but was met with news that her father was late and her mother wanted nothing to do with her. The first biography is due out this year and a British production company has signed a deal with Miramax to make the film. From apartheid there was no escape: Sandra would not be allowed to keep her two children unless she was reclassified coloured, as they were, but her father refused his consent, and without documents she had to eke out a living with odd jobs. 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. Their affair continued for several months before her parents found out. The likely explanation was that her Caucasian parents had likely carried a dormant gene passed down from their African ancestors. after Sandras birth god only knows. At the age of 10, she was expelled from her all-white school, and the . Abraham and Sannie Laing with their kids | Sannie Laing with her daughter, Sandra Laing | Source: Youtube.com/Our Life. After ~100 generations the ancestry should be approximately equally distributed across the population, but far less so on the order of 5-15 generations. 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. But, I have noted thatthe arrow of dominanceseems to mildly point to, . Abraham and Sannie Laing were white, their parents, grandparents and great grandparents were white, yet their daughter was dark. Is it possible Sandras mother was getting love from a undeniably-black man on the side? Do not sell or share my personal information. Today there are ~3 million Afrikaners. Find the best deals on More Pets Supplies from your favorite brands. Sandra's father wept and tried to explain to her about the laws which said she would have to attend a school for black or coloured children. In the principal's office, two khaki-uniformed officers were waiting. The teachers and parents fought for four years to remove Sandra from the school because she looked different from everyone else. 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. . . Find the best deals on Women's Handbags & Wallets from your favorite brands. She had darker skin than other members of her family, which seemed to become more obvious as she grew older. Earlier she did smile, when 10 children with violins trooped into her shop, a converted front room of her house, and gave a concert to celebrate the new home and business which, it is hoped, will harbour a normal, stable life. Adrift and bereft for her lost children, she fell into another relationship and had another child, Anthony. Her daughter, Elsie, remembers being surprised to see her mother standing at the school gate. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Sannie also met Sandra's brown family and was delighted to see her daughter after so long. Find the best deals on HDTVs, UHD TVs, & 4KTVs from your favorite brands. | Source: YouTube.com/Our Life. with the fact that both parents expressed society-typical racial attitudes in regards to apartheid? Her life is an extraordinary tale of a search for identity in a system built on race and prejudice, where home, school, job and sex life was demarcated by skin colour. I told her five. While the paternity test results proved them wrong, Sandra continued to feel alienated and endured harsh treatment from those around her. But Ma looked up, and I saw that she still loved me," recounted Sandra. These are the best Videogames deals youll find online. Shop the best selection of deals on Beauty now. June 29, 2020. Other students often called her names like "dirty," "blackie," and "frizzhead" and passed derogatory comments. Barbara was born on August 14 1937, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts USA. And through a quirk of genetics, ten-year-old Sandra was about to become another potent symbol of a nation built on race and prejudice. In 1987, Sandra's life took a pleasant turn when she met a truck driver, Johannes Motlaung. Thankfully, Abraham took a paternity test to silence the critics, and the results proved he and Sannie were Sandra's biological parents. From that time she drew the . He thought of me as his white little girl,' Sandra says. Skin is the heartbreaking true story of Sandra Laing (played by Sophie Okonedo) as a woman with black skin born to white parents in apartheid S. Africa. When She Was White, The True Story Of A Family Divided By Race by Judith Stone (Miramax Books, 8.99). Sandra Laing was a dark skinned child born to two white parents in South Africa in the 1950's under the law of apartheid which mandates purity of race. Sandra Laing. Together, the couple prospered, found work, and rented a house which helped Sandra bring her children home from the welfare. . This of course opens up the possibility for very light skinned parents having a darker skinned child than you would expect from simple assumptions of additivity. After ~100 generations the ancestry should be approximately equally distributed across the population, but far less so on the order of 5-15 generations. Months short of her death, Sannie was bubbly and alert: "Now tell me again, about the children." "My father was furious because I married a black man. Is is possible that the Laings were substantially more than 5% non-white? I felt at home. Not long after that, they made love for the first time. The wheel has turned full circle. Blood tests proved she was the biological offspring of Abraham and Sannie. Evicted from their town to make way for whites, Petrus turned drunk and violent and Sandra, destitute, placed the children with social welfare, the hardest decision of her life, she says. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, 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. He accused her of fooling around with other men and turned violent. Once her family was all under one roof, Sandra felt strong enough to reignite the search for her own mother and father. The Laings were substantially more than 5 % non-white strong enough to reignite the search for lost... Her all-white school, and i saw that she still loved me ''., abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse, misconduct. The results proved them wrong, Sandra continued to feel alienated and endured harsh treatment from those around.. And Sandra remembers being told by her mother, Jenny Beauty now not trivial child Anthony! 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