Although South Africa is making major strides towards democracy and against racism, Youth Radio reporter Fadia Williams says it's still hard for young people there to overcome some of her country's entrenched Apartheid-era attitudes.
ED GORDON, host: It's been 11 years since South Africa began forging its democracy.  The      changes have helped that country's black and colored youth make important      gains in employment and education, but many young people say when it      comes to race, the attitudes of the older generation can make it      difficult to completely leave apartheid behind.  Youth Radio's Fadia      Williams has this perspective.</s>FADIA WILLIAMS: My dad is colored, but he looks white.  His dad is Scottish and his mom      was Egyptian.  So under the apartheid rules, my dad, he was colored      `other' because he had foreign parents.  My mom, she looks very Indian,      and she was plain `colored' because she had some African-colored parents.      So when they walked down the street, he'd walk on the one side of the      street and she'd walk down the other side because together that was      against the law.</s>FADIA WILLIAMS: For me, it's always interesting to see how people react when they find      out I'm colored.  Actually, I exaggerate my accent so that they know I'm      colored because I want to be open about who I am.  For example, I work      for Clinique so we're working with beauty products.  We're working with      makeup.  And it's in a really posh mall, predominantly white ladies      coming up to you.  And the funny thing is when they realize, well, you're      colored and you're not white, they treat you differently.  They'll ask,      `Do you know if your supervisor is around?' or `Can I speak to your      manager?'</s>FADIA WILLIAMS: Our parents made us feel that as young girls growing up in the colored      community, makeup and beauty and things were for older white ladies and      we shouldn't even go there.  Because our parents were a part of the      apartheid era, they are making us more aware and more conscious of,      `You're colored. You have the opportunity to do this now.  You're      colored.  Where are you going?' I mean, `Do you have white friends?      Let's invite your white friends over to dinner.'  We are becoming      self-conscious and more conscious of our blackness and our whiteness and      our coloredness.</s>FADIA WILLIAMS: We have to grow up with this and teach our own children that is not what      you're supposed to be thinking about.  How do you teach your children      `Don't look at color' and `Don't look at race' if it's all over and all      around us?</s>ED GORDON, host: That was Fadia Williams of Youth Radio.