Hi there,

Welcome to Brave Brown Wonder, my personal exploration of what it means to be young, black, courageous and in the world.

By way of introduction, my name is Nomzamo, given to me by my mother after that firebrand from Bizana, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who persevered and endured through trials.

Zinhle, for the brave beauty of the women in my family.

Mkhabela, which is my father’s gift to me.

You can call me ‘Zinhle’.

This space is a culmination of my long-held desire to see myself, and other people that look like me, affirmed and celebrated through writing and storytelling.

It’s also the place where I will come to make sense of my longing to find and define ‘doing work with meaning’, especially for this restless and uncompromising heart of mine.

When I am not writing here, I am working as a Researcher and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Specialist, generating and applying evidence to improve social impact outcomes in Africa. I also continue to work on my PhD thesis, which examines how philanthropic education initiatives shape the lives and subjectivities of Black girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

I think, write, work, live and love for Black people.

Alice Walker says,

“We will be ourselves and free, or die in the attempt”.

I agree. Nkosi sikelela imizamo yethu.