"Knowledge has banished fear"
Mr. M speaks this quote during a conversation with Isabel about her expectations and first impressions at the school in the location. Isabel tells him that she was initially confused and scared about the idea of spending time with black people as equals, but quickly came to see it as normal and enjoyable, especially once she got to know Thami and Mr. M. Mr. M puts this concisely as "knowledge has banished fear" (p.29), which could also be seen as a general moral of the novel, especially in the eyes of Mr. M, who values education, books, and knowledge above almost all else.
"It's not easy, you know, to be a teacher, to put your heart and soul into educating an eager young mind which you know will never get a chance to develop further and realize its full potential"
Education is a major theme of My Children! My Africa!. Educational opportunities were limited for black South Africans during apartheid, and as Thami says later in the play, the history taught was of white heroes and conquerors. Part of the theme of education is also how Mr. M grapples to find individual meaning as an educator. While apartheid does limit what and where he can teach, he does not give up hope that his students will learn and use their knowledge to better their positions in life. This applies especially to Thami, his favorite student, in whom he is very disappointed when he finds out that Thami does not want to continue his education but instead join in physical rebellion.
"I ended up being damn glad I was born with white skin"
Isabel hadn't thought much about race before visiting Thami and Mr. M's school for the debate that starts the play. However, what she sees there as she grows closer to these two characters makes her aware of all the privileges she has had being born with white skin and speaking English in South Africa. During apartheid, the color of your skin could determine where you lived, your quality and level of education, and your day-to-day treatment in society. When Isabel speaks this quote early in the play, she still has much to learn about race relations and the struggle for equality, but she shows that she has at least acknowledged her white privilege.
"The opposition has spoken about sexual exploitation and the need for women's liberation. Brothers and sisters these are foreign ideas. Do not listen to them. They come from a culture, the so-called Western Civilization, that has meant only misery to Africa and its people. It is the same culture that shipped away thousands of our ancestors as slaves, the same culture that has exploited Africa with the greed of a vulture during the period of Colonialism and the same culture which continues to exploit us in the twentieth century under the disguise of concern for our future."
This quote is spoken by Thami in the debate that begins the play. Because Thami is a skilled debater, it remains unclear how much he actually believes what he argues about women's rights. However, this quote shows that Thami is aware and critical of Western influence in South Africa. Furthermore, it shows that he knows how to use rhetoric that speaks to his audience, which will become important for him when he joins the Comrades in the fight against the government, speaking convincingly in meetings with the public speaking skills he has honed in school.
"The argument against equality for women, in education or any other field, based on alleged "differences" between the two sexes, is an argument that can very easily be used against any other "different" group. It is an argument based on prejudice, not fact."
This quote is part of Isabel's side of the debate that begins the play. Though race is a much more important issue than gender throughout the play, starting the play with a comparison of the struggles for racial and gender equality means that the audience must see the link between these issues as the play progresses. In both cases, a dominant group has been able to frame differences as demonstrative of a certain hierarchy. Isabel's acknowledgement of the unjust nature of limitations on women's rights perhaps helps her to understand Thami's passion for racial equality.
"History has got a strict timetable. If we're not careful we might be remembered as the country where everybody arrived too late."
History is another major theme in My Children! My Africa!. Thami laments that black children are not taught the history of their people, but rather of the people who have colonized their land and subjugated them. Likewise, in this quote Mr. M worries to the audience about the history being made during his lifetime. It is not exactly clear what he means by saying "everybody arrived too late"(p.35) since he is not an advocate for an immediate, violent uprising as is Thami, but it can be understood that Mr. M sees an extreme need for change.
"Being eighteen years old today is a pretty complicated business as far as we're concerned. If you asked me if I was happy, I'd say yes, but that doesn't mean I haven't got any problems."
Isabel says this to Mr. M when he questions her about Thami's emotional state. Isabel explains to Mr. M that teens may sometimes just have to work through their emotions and the problems presented by being a young person. This is especially true for Thami, since he feels limited and controlled by the apartheid education system. Emphasizing that both Isabel and Thami are eighteen underscores how they are on the brink between childhood and adulthood and how, while some things are parallel in their lives, many aspects of their day-to day-experience and their future educational opportunities present them with different problems and worries at this point in life.
"I don't think I want to be a doctor anymore. That praiseworthy ambition has unfortunately died in me. It still upsets me very much when I think about the pain and suffering of my people, but I realize now that what causes most of it is not an illness that can be cured by the pills and bottles of medicine they hand out at the clinic. I don't need to go to university to learn what my people really need is a strong double-dose of that traditional Xhosa remedy called Inkulukelo. Freedom."
In his monologue to the audience, Thami reflects on his dreams as a young child and now, as an eighteen year old boy trying to decide how to make a difference for his people. While he used to want to become a doctor, even thinking that he would treat white people for money and black people for free, he has realized that the healing his community needs is not just medical. While he says that he realizes what his people need is freedom, one of the major questions of the play is how to achieve that freedom; while Thami says that he doesn't need to go to university to figure out the solution, Mr. M still clearly believes that that is the path he should take to become a true leader.
"Do you understand now why it is not as easy as it used to be to sit behind that desk and learn only what Oom Dawie has decided I must know? My head is rebellious. It refuses to remember when the Dutch landed, and the Huguenots landed, and the British landed. It has already forgotten when the Old Union became the proud young Republic. But it does know what happened in Kliptown in 1955, in Sharpville on 21st March, 1960, and in Soweto on the 16th of June, 1976. Do you? Better find out, because those are dates your children will have to learn one day."
It is often said that history is written by the victors. Thami discusses this sentiment in this quote, saying that the government-created education system under apartheid has taught only the history of his people's oppressors rather than the history of his people. The dates that Thami gives are of a massacre, a rebellion, and the adoption of "the Freedom Charter." Thami shows a moment of hope at the end of the quote by saying they are dates "your children will have to learn one day" (p.56), showing that he believes the cause of his people will ultimately succeed.
"If the struggle needs weapons, give it words, Thami. Stones and petrol bombs can't get inside those armored cars. Words can."
Mr. M's view is that apartheid, and prejudice in general, must be dealt with through non-violent methods, especially through education and attempting to reform the system from within. Thami and the Comrades' view, in contrast, is that the system must be violently overthrown, using materials like stones and petrol bombs as necessary. Mr. M fears that Thami's life will be wasted if he turns away from his education to join in the violence, and his fears come true when Thami joins the boycott, participates in the burning of his school and the death of his teacher, and then flees the country to join the revolution movement.
