‘We all belong to humanity,’ Reverend Tebo Moema

The love and appreciation for art and the desire to drive change in South Africa is the motivation behind Conversations over Coffee and Art (Coca). The dialogue platform which is a capacity for impactful social commentary is run on the first Wednesday of every month at Starbucks Melrose Arch. On the evening of 2 October, the conversation was about LGBTI+ which is an initialism for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex.

An activator in the ReimagineSA impact ecosystem, Ntsikelelo Mzibomvu hosted the dialogue and said the aim was to look at how much progress we have made as a society with regards to LGBTI+ matters and what we can all do to create an inclusive society for all.

Multidisciplinary creative, Prof. Lebo Diverse who wrote a book called Pieces of Expressions said there is power and healing in writing. She said oftentimes people think a lot and hardly act which is what the book sought to look into.

In her book, Diverse also added that she explores the journey of self-discovery and when looking at queer people, which is the umbrella term for LGBTI+, she prefers to use ‘they’ instead of ‘he’ or ‘she’. “We have a lot of dynamics as human beings and you find other people who are not aware of those dynamics. It is important for those who understand the dynamics to make those who don’t aware and also that it’s not cool to hate someone just because they are different.”

Reverend Doctor Tebo Moema said there is still violence towards LGBTI+ people and we live in a society grippled by hate. Moema added that corrective rape, where the perpetrator believes that raping a lesbian will make her a proper female is a norm in South Africa. “SA has the most stellar constitution that trumps every discriminatory word but does it translate to that in our society?

“The church itself, which is supposed to be a safe place where people get hope and healing, is known as the bedrock of homophobia. The author of ‘love your neighbour’ is ashamed as the church has put aside the very cardinal point which governs the church.”

The reverend suggested that everyone should take the responsibility to be agents of change by speaking out and stopping someone from violating and demonising another. “Don’t say it’s the politicians or reverends who should act, we ought to amplify this message that we all belong to humanity.

“Each one of us is a catalyst for change by changing perceptions and creating awareness in any way we can, every day, over and over until people change.”

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https://www.citizen.co.za/rosebank-killarney-gazette/221274/45-africans-believe-lgbtq-criminalised/