When she was white - Judith Stone

Sandra Laing's parents were white, pro-apartheid Afrikaners, so when Sandra was born, her dark skin and frizzy hair were a puzzle and an embarrassment. The result of an interracial union far back in history, her colouring was a genetic throwback in the worst possible place at the worst possible time - South Africa in 1955. Neighbours assumed Mrs. Laing had committed adultery with a black man, and the family were shunned under apartheid law and apartheid attitude. Here, acclaimed journalist Judith Stone explores Sandra's devastating experience.