Issue 95 | The Journalist

A stroke of African genius to the end

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Books | 108

Keorapetse William “Bra Willie” Kgositsile 1938 – 2018

When an African literary giant such as Keorapetse William “Bra Willie” Kgositsile’s soul departs from earth, it inspires many whose lives he had touched, to take to their tools of their trades and bear testimony to the pieces of the mosaic that was his life. Artists took to canvass with oil, musicians beat drums and blew horns, writers put pen to paper to celebrate his contributions to humanity and as evidence to a life well lived.

Unearthing the history buried away by the erstwhile apartheid

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Pioneers | 1935

Writing the wrong with the pioneers

For the past three years, the Pioneers section has recorded the history of founding black press players in their capacities as journalists, editors and media proprietors. In searching the depth of local and global archives, we discovered many legacy builders from as far back as 1800s and through to early 90s who defied the British, and the subsequent apartheid rules, using only the might of the pen to address socio-political ills of the day.

Is South Africa’s ANC bent on radical policies? Here’s why the answer is no

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | The Craft | 976

The “radical” resolutions which have hogged print and broadcast headlines.

When media cover a political party conference decision, it is best to report on the entire resolution, not just the exciting bits. This may reduce the audience but will improve accuracy. The point seems to have been forgotten in reporting on a resolution on land expropriation passed at the December conference of South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress.

Voices: a theatre production rebuking rape culture

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Art | 62

A play. A remedy. A movement.

Rape. A global evil which constantly tears the heart of society apart. It’s deadly. And the silence around it only continues. Unspoken of. Even acting against it almost seems too taboo an act. Voices is a play, made up of monologues of women who have survived brutal encounters with this beast. It recently debuted at the Bloemfontein Civic Theatre. Linda Fekisi reports.

We read about her. How she was raped. News stories provide us with profiles on her and certain details of the ordeal. She’s a teenage mother, a farm worker, a student, a married women…a toddler.

An open letter to Trump: Haiti is really America’s Statue of Liberty

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Spotlight | 1184

Haitian people were first to build a nation completely free of the human scourge of slavery

Intersexion: an exhibition steeped in transgender sex work

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Kau Kauru Voices | 409

Ostracised from their communities, trans femme sex workers are forced to endure the streets

H&M: Heavy hangs the head

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Spotlight | 20

The strength that’s developed from the injury of racism

Zubeida Jaffer: Open Letter to Cyril Ramaphosa

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Spotlight | 106

The opening of parliament should be about real problems facing us

Zimbabwe “has lost 20 years” and it needs to catch up

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Spotlight | 24

To say the treasury coffers are empty is an understatement

Simamkele Dlakavu responds to Rehad Desai’s film ‘The Giant is Falling’

by journalist | Jan 30, 2018 | Art | 340

“Say No, Black Woman”: ‘The Giant is Falling’ and the erasure of Black women in
South Africa

The narration of anti-capitalist and anti-white supremacist struggles in post-apartheid South African public discourse generated by events such as the #FeesMustFall movement and the Marikana massacre have tended to privilege certain voices. They have fallen into “‘malestream’ African history” characterised by the silencing of women’s voices, a tendency seen in previous anti-colonial struggles in the country.