CURRENT POLITICAL BICKERING MISSES STEVE BIKO’S HISTORIC MISSION TO UNITE LIBERATION FORCES
From his arrest at a roadblock with Peter Jones, on August 18, 1977 in Grahamstown, Steve Biko was on a mission he described as forming one liberation movement. That was the last detention that Biko, the founding father of Black Consciousness, would be seen alive. He would only emerge weeks later when his mortal remains […]
THE WORLD IS A LIBRARY: LEARNING TO READ LIFE’S PAGES
She said it lightly, as though commenting on the weather. We were standing in the doorway, hugging and kissing goodbyes and time pressing forward, when her eyes lit with that old fire that comes from a life fully lived. Her words slipped between the goodbyes like a bookmark placed at just the right place in […]
WHY PRIDE MONTH IS STILL A PROTEST, NOT A CELEBRATION
In South Africa, the month of June is not only Youth Month, it is also the international Pride Month. This is a commemorative month-long observance dedicated to the celebration of LGBTQ+ pride, celebrating the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in local and international cultures and communities. South Africa is not only […]
THE STRUGGLE AND THE SPIRIT WORLD: ANCESTORS APPARITIONS, AND THE AFTERLIFE OF RESISTANCE
Beyond the Physical Battle While the liberation struggle in South Africa is often narrated through guns, chants, marches, and negotiations, another dimension operated in tandem, one largely unspoken, sometimes mocked, and yet profoundly real to many who participated. The spiritual dimension. The realm of ancestors. The invisible world of rituals, dreams, and prophecies. For many, […]
LUXURY, LAMENT, AND THE LITURGY OF POWER: THE CHURCHES AND THE POLITICS OF POST-LIBERATION SA
When the Pulpit Echoed the Trenches During the liberation struggle, the Church, in many of its denominations, was more than a sanctuary. It was a site of resistance, a haven for activists, a platform where sermons were steeped in justice. Reverends, priests, and preachers defied the apartheid regime not just with words but with active […]