Research
New York Life in the Time of Coronavirus, a Kenyan memoir
By George Orwel* Imagine that you died and after many years of being away you are allowed a single glance earthward. You are so moved that you cannot help sobbing. That is what I am feeling right now when I think of Kenya, the country of my birth, and that is because...
Harlan Cloete remembers Ben Turok
13 December 2019 During the turbulent 80s Dr Haran Cloete was a student at UWC (University of the Working Class), where he was introduced to Prof Ben Turok through his book, Africa what is to be done? A seminal piece of work that displayed the prowess of a practical...
How the Qur’an Helped Me Find My Power Within & 7 Tips to Radiate Barakah
By Ambassador Ebrahim Rasool My accidental discovery and deliberative usage of my inner power – the Power Within – has been one of the more difficult of my life journey to share. The difficulty lies in both confessing how unconscious I was when uncovering my inner...
WHY The West Craves Materialism & The East Sticks To Religion….
By Imran Khan My generation grew up at a time when colonial hang up was at its peak. Our older generation had been slaves and had a huge inferiority complex of the British. The school I went to was similar to all elite schools in Pakistan. Despite gaining...
PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN: ESSA, DULLAH, AND US
By Dr Allan Boesak Honourable Judge Siraj Desai and the Board of the District Six Museum, Family of Essa and Dullah, Friends, Brothers and Sisters: What a privilege and honour to join you today in rejoicing in the life and work of two such remarkable and outstanding...
In the search for Khidr of the Heart:
By Mphutlane wa Bofelo* Respected elders, beloved brothers and sisters in Islam. Al-salamu `alaykum, We thank Allah (swt) for the opportunity to gather on Eid-ul-fitr to collectively celebrate and reflect on the lessons we draw from Ramadan and...
Charlotte Mannya Maxeke – By Advocate Modidima Mannya
Anyone who has had the opportunity to read Zubeida Jaffer’s book, Beauty of the Heart, the Life and Times of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke and Dr. Thozama April’s Doctoral thesis titled: Theorising Women: The Intellectual Contributions of Charlotte Maxeke to the Struggle...
Will the US start a war against Iran?
By Vijay Prashad On Sunday, May 5, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force had begun to make their way from the Mediterranean Sea toward the coastline of Iran. Iran, Bolton said,...
The living role of those who died for us to be free
By Professor Aslam Fataar And say not of those who are slain in the path of God’s cause. “They are dead”. Nay, they are alive though you perceive it not. (Q2: 154) This Quranic verse provides one very important way to productively work with the personal, social and...
The disgrace of South Africa’s post-colonial ‘mimic men’
IN 1967, a book by Caribbean writer VS Naipaul examined how newly-created elites in newly-independent countries that had laboured under colonialism began acting with as much greed, cruelty and ruthlessness as their former colonial masters. Naipaul named his book ‘The...
The Catholic Church is the Biggest Financial Power on Earth
Have you ever wondered how wealthy the church really is? In his book, ‘The Vatican Billions’, writer and philosopher Avro Manhattan gives us a glimpse of the true financial worth of the catholic church: “The Vatican has large investments with the Rothschildsof...
The American Economy Is Rigged -And what we can do about it
In Brief Economic inequality is higher in the U.S. than in virtually all other advanced countries. The American political system, coupled with high initial inequality, gave the moneyed enough political influence to change laws to benefit themselves, further...
A reflection on Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje’s Mhudi by Antjie Krog
MHUDI Before we explore the underlying philosophy of the novel, it is important to understand exactly where Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje emotionally and physically found himself when he wrote this text. It was around 1920 while Plaatje was living for the second time in...
Charlotte Maxeke, ‘Mother of Black Freedom’
In segregated South Africa, Charlotte Mannya Maxeke dedicated her life to the struggle for women’s rights and education for all. Her pioneering role is only now being rediscovered and more widely reported once again.
Boys in a Thai Cave: The Positive Power of Globalism
The events near Chang Rai powerfully underscore that a “global community” very much exists – and that it can have very positive effects on the lives and well-being of people.
Charlotte Maxeke’s Speech
The Native Christian Mother (By. Mrs. Maxeke) Mr Chairman and Christian friends, it is certainly a great pleasure to be in a gathering of this kind, a gathering where Christian men and women are collected to study as to how the Gospel of Christ should be spread...
Struggling for a Future: The Second Revolution
By Njabulo Ndebele Thank you for inviting me to participate in this important gathering this morning. In the midst of so many other commitments, I decided to prioritise an unexpected invitation to do what I was asked. I was asked to express my understandings of the...
Bantu women on the move
The grand narratives about history are misleading. Apart from the pass protests of the early 1900s and the 1956 march, history would have us believe that black women were not active participants in South Africa’s history. Athambile Masola digs into the archives.
Prof Lalu pays tribute to Peter Williams
17 March 2017 By Professor Premesh Lalu I cannot tell you how much I loved Peter Williams. Together with Rashieda Labans and many others, we were idealistic and romantic in a world that apartheid had stripped of all emotion. We were young, passionate and awake to the...
Paying tribute to Essa Moosa, the quiet revolutionary
“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.” Chinese Proverb “Our Tree is shedding its beautiful and glossy branches. We need to ensure that it grows beautiful and fresh shoots.” Linda...
Johnny Issel on freedom
“ What spurred us on then – the need and urge for freedom – still burns within us and it will burn in us for a long time to come. I want you to be strong. Do not be distracted by anything. Let us continue moving on and finally I believe we shall see what we...
Notes on Davos
Public Eye In the year 2000, the "Public Eye on Davos" was created as a counter-summit to the World Economic Forum (WEF), and over the years it grew into an internationally recognised online campaign, as it named and shamed unscrupulous companies with its awards. The...
Politics of memory and honouring women’s history
Panel discussion at Inyathelo 25 November 2016 Remembering the prominent role played by ground-breaking women, and calling for renewed activism and solidarity, were recurring themes at a breakfast discussion on Friday 25 November at Inyathelo, the South African...
The Meaning of John Berger
January 3, 2017 – The Con Mag John Berger, who died on January 2, turned 90 in November last year. A Jar of Wild Flowers (Zed Books), a collection of essays written by his friends and artistic collaborators in celebration of Berger, and edited by Yasmin Gunaratnam and...
Our work in South Africa
A speech by Charlotte Maxeke The title of the speech is " Our work in South Africa".
Address by Charlotte Maxeke at the Conference of European and Bantu Christian Students Association
Address took place at Fort Hare, June 27 – July 3, 1930 (Extract published in Christian students and Modern South Africa) “Social Conditions Among Bantu Women and Girls.” In speaking of Bantu women in urban areas, the first thing to be considered is the home, around...
The Fifth Annual Imam Abdullah Haron Memorial Lecture
“Has tolerance no limits?” Why the education crisis persists Jonathan D Jansen University of the Free State 2 October 2012 Introduction Two events of seismic proportions shook the Western Cape in the closing days of September 1969. The first was the...
The Soft Punch: The pitfalls of assimilation
Transformation in South Africa has taken on vague and even negative connotations. Two decades of democracy and we seem to have reached a cul de sac. It’s a raw nerve… when you touch it expressions of pain and anger escape. After four years at the University of the...
Mr FW de Klerk’s speech
This is a copy of Mr.FW de Klerk's speech dated: 1 February 1991.
We, the People: Insights of an Activist Judge
By Albie Sachs In his new book, activist and former judge Albie Sachs builds on South Africans’ renewed faith in the power of the Constitution. We, the People: Insights of an Activist Judge will be launched at Cavendish Square on Tuesday 22 November 2016 and Sachs...