As a young girl, Ismé Bennie didn’t realize how privileged she was. A white South African growing up during the apartheid era, her life was one of pleasure. She was a child at play under the warm African sun.

As she grew, however, and became more aware of the suffering of the black community in her country, she began to understand the evils of apartheid in a way that only those who lived through it can.

White Schooldays is a reflection on the relative normalcy of Bennie’s life in the 1940s and 1950s—a life filled with her pets, family, sports, and friends. As a Jew, Bennie was a minority within a minority, but she still enjoyed the benefits of life as a white South African. Her everyday pleasurable experiences stand in stark contrast to the violence, discrimination, and political upheaval that went on around her. As Bennie changed from a girl to a woman, the bliss of ignorance faded away.

White Schooldays is Bennie’s homage to a way of life that was special and beautiful for those who were privileged enough to lead it…and a look at the political reality of the times to keep it all in perspective.