Health department talks NHI at annual Biko lecture
Representatives from the Gauteng Department of health said the province would led the implementation of NHI.
Transgender healthcare under the microscope
Hospitals can often be stigmatising and abusive spaces for transgender patients who seek out healthcare.
Professor Angela Davis hails Pretoria High School’s Zulaikha Patel
Professor Angela Davis has applauded 13-year-old Pretoria High School for Girls student Zulaikha Patel for shining the light equally on her peers as the media has shone it on her.
At the 17th annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture hosted at Unisa, Pretoria, on Friday, September 9, Patel was summoned to the stage to honour Davis with a portrait, in a symbolic gesture of passing the torch from one generation to the next. Patel, however, refused to come alone and called upon her sisters to share the glory. This left Davis “impressed”.
Davis, an African American political activist and struggle veteran, gave the keynote address at this year’s lecture. She was introduced as “a person who graduated from the university of life, in the faculty of hard knocks”, by the master of ceremonies, Professor Somadoda Fikeni.
The crowd stood and applauded while Patel took the first steps towards the stage, then turned back to invite her fellow Pretoria Girls students to join her on the stage.
PASSING THE BATON: Students from Pretoria Girl’s High honour Prof Davis with a portrait at the 17th annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture.
“I would be nothing without the organisations I stood with during those times,” said Davis in a media briefing after her address.
Davis emphasised the importance of organisations in political activism and the danger of lording individuals in collective struggles. She said movements required the strength of many contributors and Patel’s recognition of that truth was an “important” one.
The auditorium was coloured by chants, claps and songs of affirmation as Davis delivered her address where she spoke about the legacy of Steve Biko, her own experiences of political activism and on contemporary struggles for justice under the topic “legacies and unfinished activism”.
“The revolution we wanted was not the revolution we helped produce,” said Davis, speaking about the institutional and structural inequalities that continue to exist for black people across the world.
Throughout her address, Davis highlighted that the revolution was changing and the role of veterans and historical heroes and heroines increasingly becoming advisory rather than active.
“Veterans often take themselves and their knowledge too seriously,” said Davis; urging past leaders to allow young activists to create their own paths and to “learn from their mistakes”.
During her short visit to South Africa, Davis has met with various activists including Wits SRC President Nompendulo Mkhatshwa and former president Shaeera Kalla.
“I would not have been able to imagine then that two decades after the defeat of apartheid, we would be confronted with militaristic responses to people’s protests,” said Davis to applause.
Video: Prof Angela Davis responds to a question from the media on how today’s political activists can respectfully challenge veterans given that they are now in the leadership of the new dispensation.
Also in attendance were former first ladies Graca Machel and Zanele Mbeki whom Davis recognised, regarding their presence an “honour” to her.
Crowds mingled after the lecture and reflective conversations could be heard throughout the halls. A media frenzy ensued as attendees swarmed to take pictures with Patel and to congratulate her for her courage. One was heard saying “Ngifuna is’thombe nalo mntwana”, meaning, “I want to take a picture with this child”, as he stood among the crowd waiting to greet Patel just outside the entrance to the lecture theatre.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Wits Vuvuzela, An open letter in support #PretoriaGirlsHigh from its Old Girls, August 30, 2016
Wits Vuvuzela, Pretoria High School for Girls alumni pledge their support, August 30, 2016
Popstar Revolution
Over the last few months, being a revolutionary has become the new cool. We live in times where Biko is used as a pick up line, Fanon is cited willy-nilly to show a certain level of intellectual muscle and “the look” is about Blackness. You must look Black, talk Black, and behave Black.
Exaggerated, acted out, ‘Comrade Black’. Nothing genuine about that Blackness.
My worry with all of this is not that as young Black people we are finding and living in voices and skins that are authentically ours, but is that some among us have decided that they will use things like #FeesMustFall for popularity and to further their political careers.
To some people, wearing a doek or a beret, and putting on their best comrade stage voice is far more important than doing the necessary and very important ground work that all of these student movements are built around doing.
I have heard for the last six weeks straight, stories of students that don’t have money to return to varsity, students who’ve had to do some really heart-breaking things to raise registration money, students who at this very point have nowhere to sleep and struggle to find money for food every single day.
Yet there are people who masquerade as leaders. People whose Twitter accounts are the only place where they can claim to do this revolutionary work.
Revolutionary work, in my humble opinion, is making sure that these students that have been pushed to the sides, as life at Wits continues “normally” are taken care of. Its making sure you use your massive Twitter following to try and get help for financially needy students, its making sure you use this platform of leadership you have been elevated to, to negotiate with the powers that be to organise accommodation for the many students that sleep in libraries.
I mean, you are the prominent faces of student movements right? Then use your star power properly. You gained popularity because you were what many students thought they needed in a leader, someone who will still remember them, even when they start working towards those future political aspirations.
I have no problem at all with people seeing themselves one day in political leadership. I have a huge problem though, if you’re going to politic with people’s lives.
You walk around with highly inflated egos talking about how the students that you claim to serve have “entitlement issues” and need to “humble themselves” and come to you. Hayibo. Khanthe, what did you think your new position of relevance meant? Can you get off Facebook long enough to do what you’re supposed to do? Preaching Marxist theory doesn’t mean you are putting it into practice.
I know that these days no one does anything out of the sheer goodness of their hearts, and I am okay with this. But I am however demanding that while doing your social media activism and being about that revolutionary lifestyle, you remember that these people you are using to further yourself, need your help. I think that’s a fair trade.
O ke o re tlhohele ka bo popstar bo. Shape up, or step aside.
15 Important Black writers to influence Johannesburg
Johannesburg has often been a place of conundrums; apartheid acts as a beginning and an end. And literature which is often an art that connects the unsaid with the truth, acts like a mirror which reveals a society to itself. We look at 15 Black authors who have left their imprint on the city.
Many authors in South Africa often express the things people are afraid to say, taking to writing books, poetry and plays in the midst of the political confusion and social instability. Some of these authors have given way to the hip, misunderstood, radical and frustrated authors of today.
As a microcosm of South African society, Johannesburg is a city which typifies the contradictions of the country; on one hand we have the Houghtons and the Gautrains, and on the other, Soweto and Alexandra.
We even have streets named after Miriam Makeba and Louis Botha. Sometimes Justin Bieber comes to visit, on other days Jill Scott.
We take a look at 15 important black writers to influence the city of Johannesburg.
Some are alive and some long gone, some are newly controversial and some are long standing celebrities, but each one has left an imprint on the metropolitan hub of social transformation and the beating heart of South Africa, 20 years still in transition.
1. Bessie Head
BOTSWANA COME TO JHB: Bessie Head as young woman. Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
Bessie Amelia Head was born on the 6th of July 1937 in Pietermaritzburg, although she is is usually considered Botswana’s most influential writer.
According to Remembered, Head’s mother was white and her father was black. She was raised by foster parents after her mother gave birth to her in an asylum, and then taken in by the Anglican mission orphanage.
In later years she trained as a primary school teacher, but in 1959 Head decided to pursue a career in journalism.
She wrote short stories for the Johannesburg Golden City Post, which was a weekly supplement and sister publication to the then famous Drum magazine.
When she moved to Johannesburg to write from Drum, her work began to precede her as reputable writer.
2. Miriam Tlali
TLALI ON MY WALL: Miriam Tlali is the first black woman in South Africa to publish a novel. Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
The first black woman in South Africa to publish a novel was Miriam Tlali.
She was also one of the first authors to write about Soweto. Tlali studied at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg until it was subsequently closed to Black people during apartheid.
Tlali then left to study in Lesotho but was unable to continue with her studies because of a lack of funds.
She then became an office clerk and wrote her first novel Muriel at Metropolitan in 1979. Her subsequent books include Amandla(1980), Mihloti (1984), and Footprints in the Quag (1989).
She was honoured in this year’s 21 Icons. Here is her story: Miriam Tlali
3. Njabulo S Ndebele
Prof Njabulo Ndebele reflects on his achievements during his inauguration as the new Chancellor – Sanlam Auditorium on Kingsway Campus on Friday, 16 November 2012.
Ndebele is currently the Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and a member of the English Academy of South Africa.
Author of The Cry of Winnie Mandela, in 2004 it received critical acclaim, and his earlier publication Fools and Other Stories won Ndebele the Noma Award, which is Africa’s highest literary award for the best book published in Africa in 1984.
Ndebele has also written a number of highly influential essays on South African literature and culture, these were published in the collection Rediscovery of the Ordinary.
IMAGE: Taken during his inauguration at the University of Johannesburg.
4. Steve Biko
THE CONSCIOUS MAN: Steve Biko on the cover of Drum magazine.
This man writes what he likes. Very little introduction is necessary when discussing the father of the Black Consciousness Movement.
The movement was an instrument pivotal to the empowerment and mobilization of much of the urban black population in South Africa during in apartheid.
Much of his letters, essays and teachings have stood the test of time and newly formed parties such as the Economic Freedom Front have aligned themselves quite obviously with Biko’s words.
In Johannesburg CBD, the Steve Biko Foundation can be located at the Braamfontein Centre on Jorrisen Street. The Foundation aims to “…strengthen democracy by championing dialogue, scholarship and programmes on the relationship between identity, agency, citizenship and social action.”
5. Don Mattera
EMPOWERING POETS: Rehana Mosajee (from left) Portia Monama, Katleho Sekhotho, Don Mattera (right). Photo: Mrs Rice
“Sorry is not just a word, it’s a deed.”
The renowned larger-than-life poet says, “Contrition is not bless me Father for I have sinned, contrition is I have taken from thee therefore I give thee back.”
These are Mattera’s words on addressing the issues surrounding the collective responsibility that white people have but have ignored in the new and democratic South Africa.
He says, “They suffer from forgetfulness.”
Mattera was born in the Western Native Township, now known as Westbury in Johannesburg. He grew up in Sophiatown, and according to an interview with Lucille Davie Don Mattera: poet of compassion,Mattera was during his high school years a gangster, the leader of the Vultures which was one of the most powerful gangs in Sophiatown.
He has worked as a journalist at the Sunday Times, The Weekly Mail (now the Mail & Guardian) and The Sowetan. He has trained over 260 journalists. Mattera also has a doctorate in literature.
CHIMAMANDA: The Thing Around Your Neck Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
6. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Although reading this list one might find Adichie irrelevant to the theme, she has become by far an African novelist who has transformed the way in which young black readers in Africa have become attuned to literature.
A Nigerian author, one might argue she has entered into the sacred realms of Achebe and Okri.
Her books include Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus and The Thing Around Your Neck, the latter being a collection of short stories.
7. Gcina Mhlophe
Gcina Mhlophe: Never fails to entertain and never fails to get her message across. Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
Easily one of the most celebrated poets in South Africa, Mhlophe has easily become synonymous with the music of liberation and the songs of freedom.
She is known as a South African freedom fighter, activist, actor, storyteller, poet, playwright, director and author.
Well-travelled and globally celebrated, she continues to hold African idiomatic expressions and metaphors at the helm of her artistry.
She writes children’s books and remains concerned with the advancement of literature in schools. (See: Time for book fairs to “break the class divide”)
Her play, Have you seen Zandile? Was first performed at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg in 1986, with Mhlophe as Zandile.
Here is Mhlophe talking about the importance of knowing you ancestral connections.
KOPANO MATLWA Photo: Provided
8. Dr Kopano Matlwa Mabaso
Perhaps one of the youngest writers to emerge in the literary sphere as a force to be reckoned with Matlwa’s Coconut, opened the lid on the realities of being a 21stcentury black girl living in South Africa.
Her debut Coconut was succeeded by her novel Spilt Milk, the former winning her the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literary in Africa in 2008, sharing the prize with “I Do Not Come To You By Chance” by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani and “Tenants of The House” by Wale Okediran.
Matlwa matriculated from St. Peters College in Johannesburg with distinctions in 2003.
9. Peter Abrahams
Once a sailor Abrahams was born to an Ethopian father and a Coloured mother, under the apartheid regime his mother was in South Africa considered a ‘Kleurling’. He was born in Vrededorp, a suburb in Johannesburg but later left South Africa in 1939.
His novel Mine Boy, published in 1946, remains relevant and timeless. Mine Boy was one of Abraham’s first works to bring him critical attention.
The novel was turned into a musical in 2014, in celebration of 20 years of democracy. The musical was showcased at the Wushwini Arts and heritage centre in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
Es’kia Mphahlele Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
10. Es’kia Mphahlele
Mphahlele was a South African writer, teacher, artist and activist. He was born Ezekiel Mphahlele but would later change his name to Es’kia in 1977.
He died at the age of 88 from natural causes. He was the first black professor at Wits and founded its African Literature Department.
This year Wits University will hold The Es’kia Mphahlele Postgraduate Colloquium and Arts Forum. It is a bi-annual event initiated in tribute to renowned writer and intellectual, Es’kia Mphahlele, who had a life-long interest in the training and mentoring of emerging artists and scholars.
A LONG WALK: Mandela’s legacy will undoubtedly live for generations to come. Photo: Katleho Sekhotho
11. Nelson Mandela
Perhaps Africa’s biggest icon, Mandela name is synonymous with the liberation themes that vibrate
MANDELA BRIDGE: The Nelson Mandela bridge in the night time. This photo was taken by renowned cinematographer Ofentse Mwase
throughout South Africa then and now.
While his many accolades precede him, he was also sometimes an author. One of his biggest autobiographies (also literally in the sense!) was his Long Walk to Freedom . The book profiles his early life, coming of age and 27 years in prison.
Here we see the Mandela Bridge in Johannesburg. The bridge is one of the many architectural structures throughout the country that honour Madiba’s legacy.
12. Lebo Mashile
FIERCE POETRY: Poet Lebo Mashile spoke out against Israeli apartheid at the IAW concert on this year during Israeli Apartheid Week. Photo: Michelle Gumede
She has no doubt become one of the most popular poets to date in contemporary South Africa.
A former Wits Law student, she was the daughter of exiled parents in the United States of America and returned in the mid 1990’s after the end of apartheid.
She has been actively involved in the plight against apartheid in Israel. She has performed numerously throughout the country, and recently partook in the Ruth First Memorial Lecture at Wits University, which was ablaze with political and social agenda that aimed to criticise racial dynamics within this democratic nation.
13. Panashe Chigumadzi
“Thank you Tseliso Monaheng for your amazing photographer’s eye.” – Panashe Chigumadzi
One of the newest voices to arise in recent years, she is a self proclaimed ‘Coconut’ and hers is the plight to transform the meaning of what it is to be a young black female in a democratic South Africa. She also spoke at the Ruth First Memorial Lecture to a crowd inspired by her words.
A Wits student, she will be releasing her debut novel Sweet Medicinelater this year. She is the founder and editor for the Vanguard Magazine, a platform for young black women coming of age in post apartheid South Africa.
She is currently completing a postgraduate degree in Development Studies at Wits.
14. Mamphele Ramphele
Although Ramphele has become in recent years a controversial figure, she is also a novelist.
Ramphele is a former anti-apartheid activist against, a medical doctor, an academic and a businesswoman.
She was one of several romantically involved partners linked to Steve Biko. Her latest book Passion for Freedom was published in 2013.
She was also leader of the Agang party; she has since withdrawn from politics from July 2014.
15. Zakes Mda
Zakes Mda was born in 1948 and has become a national signatory in the world of arts and literature.
He has written countless novels, poems and plays, many have been performed throughout the country on many stages, including the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, Newtown. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays, and is currently a Patron of the Etisalat Prize for Literature.
He has also been awarded the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work.
Mngxitama: ANC has failed the ideals of Steve Biko
The African National Congress (ANC) has succeeded in making black people accept that they’re third class citizens, said EFF’s (Economic Freedom Fighters) Andile Mngxitama, at Wits yesterday.
Mngxitama was speaking at the first in a series of lectures that commemorates the life of Black consciousness leader Steve Biko.
Speaking about the ideals of the Black consciousness movement to an audience of about 100 people, Mngitama said “[The] ANC has destroyed the capacity of blacks to take themselves seriously”.
“No sane person can defend the ANC … at least [give] a rational defence, at least [give] a pro black defence.” Mngxitama said that in South Africa people black people have to fight for RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) housing even though they should be entitled to these homes. He said many South Africans are not aware of their entitlements as citizens because of the ANC.
Mngxitama said the problem with the ruling party is that its policies are inherently “anti-black” He argued that Black consciousness as an ideal runs counter to non-racialism as the latter does not recognise “the black situation”. He said even the Freedom Charter, which was written by the ANC in 1955, is suspending black thought because its ideals do not empower black people.
Responding to recent incidents involving his party in parliament, Mngxitama said that “parliament is not a place of truth” and said that radical movements like the EFF are meant to turn places like parliament upside down.
Hook-ed on Biko
Derek Hook (right) answers questions after his lecture on writing about Steve Biko. Photo: Nolwazi Mjwara
IT COULD be considered quite problematic to have a white person address an audience about techniques that could be used in writing a Steve Biko biography. Biko is of course of the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement but Derek Hook did this with confidence yesterday.
“Why are there such limited Biko biographies?,” asked Hook at the Writing Biko lecture.
A new biography
Hook, a lecturer at the University of London; and a visiting associate professor in Psychology at Wits, was asked by the HSRC (Human Sciences Research Council) press to contribute to a series of books called Voices of Liberation.
The publishers asked Hook, who is also a lead researcher in the Apartheid Archive Project based at Wits University, to be involved in the writing of a biographical Biko essay.
Hook said that creating a new and fresh Biko biography was difficult due to the limited set of historical facts and documents.
He argued that one of the best ways to write a Biko biography was: “simply to do something like a meta-analysis of all the existing biographical treatments”.
During the process of explaining this meta-analysis, Hook read and discussed passages chronicling Biko’s life written by Donald Woods, Dr Xolela Mangcu and Dr Mamphela Ramphele.
Writing techniques
Central to Hook’s talk was to investigate “how ‘creative non-fiction’ [writing] might serve as a methodological resource that aids the writer in returning to key narrative events in the various accounts of Biko’s life.” Hook discussed four possible literary techniques which one might use in telling the life story of such a renowned thought leader.
[pullquote]“Why are there such limited Biko biographies?” [/pullquote] Hook suggested anecdotal storytelling, characterisation, writing a story within a story and the use of extrapolated scenes Although such terms might have left those unfamiliar with creative non-fiction writing somewhat confused, Hook took great care in explaining and exemplify these concepts.“What has started to become of interest to me was this idea of creative non-fiction, historical life writing… [Which] will be able to guide us to produce new insight and perspectives on Biko’s life,” said Hook
Challenge
Hook presented the lecture as a way of discussing new ways to plot the Steve Biko legacy. He said the one challenge that he had encountered in the process of writing a Biko biography was writing the last scene of Biko’s life.
“How do you write the last scene in the story … I can’t really do it,” he said. Hook explained the difficulty was mainly due to getting the accurate and truthful facts of what Biko endured in his last days.
Agang is born – Build South Africa
About WCJ
We Should Be Writing podcast
- Community Guidelines: Queering your communityWorried about not looking gay enough, or scared you’re serving fake bisexual? In the second episode of our limited-series focused on life and living as a twenty something, the Community Guidelines team analyzes the idea of community from a queer lens, and delving into what it means to have a “queer community” in a country […]