White Zebra — Different. Not apart.

The idea

You can stand out and still belong.

Very rarely, a zebra appears almost white, its familiar stripes faded to pale gold or cream. Against the dark stripes of the herd, it is unmistakable. And yet it remains part of the herd.

That idea fascinated Richard Yell.

Richard knew something about being different. He sometimes saw himself as a societal misfit, someone whose stripes did not quite match everyone else’s. But in the white zebra he saw something wonderfully simple: being different does not mean having to leave the herd.

See I figured if we share our dialogues then maybe we can round up more people to take our example and also work together.

Richard Yell · Letters to My Virus

His voice

He began a conversation.

When HIV became part of Richard’s life, he did not allow it to become the entirety of his identity. He addressed the virus as an unruly travelling companion.

In Letters to My Virus, he argued with it, laughed at it and sometimes thanked it for making him see life differently. His writing was honest, irreverent and unmistakably his own.

He described his approach with three letters:

HHonest desire

OOpen-minded

WWilling

Kilimanjaro · 2005

Not defined. Not confined.

Richard spoke publicly about HIV and stigma. He challenged assumptions. And in 2005, after living openly with HIV for years, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.

The expedition carried a simple message: people living with HIV should not be defined and confined by their status.

Perhaps that is the White Zebra idea in its purest form. Not hiding your stripes. Not wishing for somebody else’s. Not allowing one part of you to become the definition of you.

The difference was visible. The belonging remained.

In memory of

Richard Yell

Writer. Speaker. Climber. Brother.

White Zebra.