Photograph by: Simon Mathebula
She will be remembered as a graceful pillar of justice, who maintained a strong commitment to her family and country throughout some of the most chaotic times in South African history.
Her legacy lives on through the Albertina Sisulu Foundation and Albertina Sisulu Multi-Purpose Resource Centre
“So as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with Blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior.” – Steve Biko 1946-1977
The 11th Steve Biko Memorial Lecture was delivered this year by American Alice Walker, best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Colour Purple. The annual lecture is organised by the Steve Biko Foundation and is one of the activities aimed at building on the legacy of Biko, who espoused community development and the restoration of dignity and identity to an oppressed people.
In the sound clip presented above, recorded during apartheid, shortly before Biko’s death, he speaks about the principles of Black Consciousness which formed his political mindset. He said that under apartheid black people suffered a psychological oppression which made them feel inferior. Biko wanted black people to free their minds and elevate themselves. (more…)
A scene from Freedom Behind Bars
Society’s tendency to throw away the key distances us as individuals of society from the humanity of those in prison. We label them criminal and prisoner and treat them as such. This veiled lens through which we see these individuals is highlighted in the documentary that was screened at the Labia Theatre on Orange Street this last Sunday 17 May.
Finding Freedom Behind Bars follows the work of two Zen teachers with inmates of Malmesbury Prison in Cape Town. The focus is on mindfulness; being consciously aware of one’s actions through mindfulness techniques such as meditation. This initiative forms part of the Mindfulness Prison Project.
What was so powerful about their journey is that the mindfulness tools taught to them by the Zen teachers allowed them to gain an understanding of themselves. It allowed them and us the viewers, to look into their hearts and see the humanity that is present there. Their individual stories lift the veil from our eyes. Against the very harsh environment of prison, the inmates are challenged to view themselves to seek alternative ways of being that allow them to confront their past and challenge those around them to see them as human.
Despite their crimes, these individuals are vulnerable human beings who now have to face the outside world. The documentary also gives hope to finding solutions to the high recidivism rates. More than that, Finding Freedom Behind Bars calls us to embrace our own humanity and be mindful of our thoughts, feelings and actions towards those in our society who need our understanding and compassion.
The documentary Freedom Behind Bars was shown at the Labia Theatre.
