"How Do I Catch a Taxi?": White South Africans Ask Black South Africans Their Biggest Questions

• A TikToker invited white South Africans to ask Black South Africans questions they had always been afraid to voice
• The video sparked over 12,300 comments from people across South Africa sharing curious, heartfelt and funny questions
• The responses ranged from how to catch a taxi to deep reflections on inequality and black tax

A South African TikToker opened an unexpected door on 22 October 2026, and thousands of people walked right through it.

@phiwa.the.long.vi posted a selfie-style video from what looked like a home office, speaking directly into the camera with a simple, warm invitation: white South Africans were welcome to ask Black South Africans any question they had always held back. For those too nervous to post publicly, the creator offered to ask on their behalf.

The video struck a chord almost immediately.

Questions pour in from across South Africa

The comment section on Phiwa's page became a space where curiosity, humour and honesty all showed up at once. With more than 12,300 comments, the range of what people wanted to know was striking.

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Some questions were lighthearted. User joeann585only.account had a list that included how Black people keep their sneakers so white, how they maintain bright smiles without teeth bleaching, and, perhaps most urgently, how to make magwinya and braai mielies with the leaves still on.

SittingDuck01 🇿🇦 had a very practical concern:

"How the HELL do I catch a taxi? How do I know where it's going? All I know is if I want to stop then I just say 'after robot'... or am I wrong 😅"

Others went deeper. Henry wrote openly about growing up poor and having Black childhood friends, asking why people treat each other so differently outside sporting events:

"At the rugby or cricket white and black stand next to one another; we are all just people who were created by the same Heavenly Father."

Dog the bounty hunter put it simply:

"How are Black people able to survive with the little or less money they getting and still have pure hearts."

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View the TikTok video below:

Honesty and respect shared in equal measure

Not every commenter came with a question. User taira raised something that sparked its own conversation, asking why it was acceptable to laugh at someone for not speaking English perfectly, yet when a white person tried to speak an African language, they were praised for it.

Coline Clark wanted to know how Black South Africans seem to know every song at every gathering, from protests to church services.

And user ~W¡l€n€~ left no question at all, only a message:

"Black tax... My respect doubled after learning about that. I am sorry to the young folk who still have to go through that while struggling to keep their own heads above water."

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Source: Briefly News