How do we talk about the memory of Apartheid
The fact that the choices for black people under Apartheid were either martyrdom or compromise was part of the injustice of that system.
South Africa
What’s the matter with … Stellenbosch University
Legacies of colonialism and apartheid are etched into social dynamics of the town in the way its inhabitants occupy public space. The same goes for the university.
The Fingo Festival Revolution in South Africa’s Eastern Cape
“You’ve got a car? It’s less than two hours from here” says a Rasta woman I’ve known for a total of ten minutes. In that time, she’s managed to convince me to travel with her to a town nearby (or was it me trying to convince her?) on a hunt for medicinal herbs. The ganja in […]
T.O. Molefe on South Africa’s “War on Women”
The essayist T.O. Molefe (he is a contributor here too) has a new op-ed column up at nytimes.com. He writes about “South Africa’s War on Women.” The oped opens with a discussion of why South Africans appear so blase about gender violence. Molefe writes, “… crimes against black lesbians don’t register on the public’s radar amid the […]
Make Ignorance History
That old excuse of ‘We didn’t know’ (previously also heard as ‘Ons het nie geweet nie’ and ‘Wir haben es nicht gewuszt’) may be factually accurate, but it is never an ethical defense.
Africa is a Radio: Epsiode #5
Africa is a Radio went on break last month along with Africa is a Country, so I’m just now able to get to posting July’s show here. This episode focuses on South African Hip Hop, both commercial and underground with a special report from Pretoria by Ts’eliso Mohaneng. Enjoy, and look out for September’s Episode […]
The Naked Woman on Mandela Square
Her nudity wakes us up, either in protest or solidarity to the fact that everything is not okay in South Africa.
The Redemption Trope in South African Cinema
The politics of three prominent South African films: the classics 'Come Back Africa,' late-1980s 'Mapantsula' and Oscar winner 'Tsotsi.'
The promise of revelation
James Matthews has the distinction of being one of the first Black Consciousness poets and publishers in South Africa. He is the subject of a documentary by director Shelley Barry.
The winners and losers of the platinum strike in South Africa
Will the trade union that organized the strike will unify and rally workers outside of the ruling alliance.
White Schools in postapartheid South Africa
"Former" white schools propose color blindness to tackle racism against its new black students, invariably leading to alienation and discomfort on the part of the latter.
It’s time to drop the “world music” label
The progressive rock of The Brother Moves On is a great case study for why the category of "world music" is at best dated, and at worst problematic.
Umlilo is young, black and queer in South Africa
The artist Umlilo documents their metamorphosis from a tortured outsider to a fully realized divine being.
Oscar Pistorius’ anxiety spectacle
Biased media reporting won’t advance popular and professional understandings on how psychiatric conditions interact social and economic sources of stress.
Obituary: Nadine Gordimer
My first introduction to Comrade Nadine was through her writing during my student activist days in the mid-1970s and later when I was serving five years on Robben Island as a political prisoner from 1979 to 1984. Her writing struck me so powerfully as it spoke of the lived experiences of people like me fighting […]
The small businessman who took on the bread cartel
The struggle over the price of bread in South Africa is the struggle for adequate nourishment, and securing the right of the poor to flourish.
Relegating good intentions to the dustbin
The last third or so of Director Phil Harrison’s film about Irish multinationals in South Africa suffers from needless flattening.
Buckingham Palace
District Six was the start of a really vibrant, none racial South African and that’s why it had to die.
Brenda Fassie’s revolution without harmony
Brenda Fassie was a woman who stepped out of line, talked out of turn, wore the pants, pulled up her skirt and loved women and men.
Probing Subliminal Violence
The artist Mohau Modisakeng mines the contours of colonial and post-colonial history.