All poor together? Race and the stylistics of begging at traffic lights in Johannesburg

Abstract

This paper is based on participant observation of begging strategies employed by placard-bearing able-bodied black and white adults at traffic lights in Johannesburg. My main concern is how ideas of ‘race’ shape the performances of begging and patterns of giving. In spite of strong sentiments held by both black and white donors that whites are illegitimate beggars, on average, white beggars earned more than did black ones. This occurred in spite of the stylistics of white beggars that suggested they were performing ‘superiority’ or ‘respectability’ in begging. Black beggars tended to adopt active strategies that ‘added value’ to the streets whereas whites were passive. Both black and white donors, in general, seemed to be troubled or fascinated by the upsetting of an enduring racial hierarchy that previously privileged whites during apartheid. The paper reflects on white privilege, begging and non-racialism.