apartheid
-
Flint Still Doesn’t Have Clean Drinking Water but Trump Is Tweeting About White South African Farmers
As it stands Flint, Mich., still doesn’t have clean drinking water and Puerto Rico is still recovering from Hurricane Maria’s aftermath. But President Trump, in a late-night tweetstorm, decided to run down the rabbit hole that seems to be the latest white nationalist conspiracy theory, specifically, that white South African farmers are being murdered for…
-
‘Decolonize the Mind’: Black South Africans Are Figuring Out How to Heal From the Mental Damage of Apartheid
Black South Africans have been fighting for their right to live with dignity since before the time of King Shaka Zulu. Millions are still trying to heal from the brutality of an institutionally racist system that placed them in the lowest social status—below the “coloreds,” who were below white people. Now black South Africans have…
-
South African Government to Hold National Funeral in Honor of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela
The South African government has formally announced plans to honor Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, one of the country’s most prominent anti-apartheid icons, with an official state funeral. Madikizela-Mandela will be laid to rest during a national funeral on April 14, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed, with a national memorial service to be held three days prior,…
-
South African Anti-Apartheid Activist Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Dies at 81
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, one of South Africa’s most prominent anti-apartheid activists and the former wife of South Africa’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, died Monday at the age of 81. According to eNCA.com, the Mandela family spokesperson, Victor Dlamini, said in a statement that Madikizela-Mandela died peacefully at Milpark Hospital in Johannesburg surrounded by her family…
-
The Rev. Wyatt T. Walker, MLK’s Right Hand, Dead at 88
The Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, a fierce civil rights advocate and strategist over many generations, died Tuesday at his home in Chester, Va. He was 88 years old. His death was announced by the Rev. Al Sharpton of the National Action Network on Twitter; Walker was the 27-year-old organization’s first board chairman. As with…
-
Pro-Palestinian Groups Compare Chris Rock’s Show in Israel to Performing in Apartheid South Africa
Much to the dismay of pro-Palestinian groups, it looks like Chris Rock will be following through on a scheduled performance in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following months of urging from activists and fans to cancel the Jan. 9 performance, Rock is currently in Tel Aviv for the next stop of his stand-up Total Blackout Tour. The…
-
Ahmed Kathrada, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist, Dies at 87
Ahmed Kathrada—one of South Africa’s iconic anti-apartheid activists and a close confidant of the late Nelson Mandela—died in Johannesburg Tuesday morning. He was 87 years old. According to the Associated Press, Kathrada, known fondly as Kathy to just about everyone, died after being admitted to a hospital with blood-clotting in his brain earlier this month.…
-
Class Is in Session With BET’s Madiba, Starring Laurence Fishburne as the South African Icon
The New Edition Story may have signaled that BET is in the original-content game for real. But the truth is, the network has been slowly working at this for years. And history, not music, has been the main driver when it comes to the miniseries that air on the network. Reportedly, great viewer reception to…
-
Watch: Trevor Noah on South African Apartheid, American Racism and What He Hopes to Offer the World
At the time he was born, Trevor Noah’s mere existence was a crime. The South African native grew up during apartheid—a bleak period in the nation’s past underscored by a white supremacist system intended to segregate and oppress the country’s nonwhite population. It was illegal for interracial couples to have intercourse. To say that Noah,…
-
Trevor Noah, Tomi Lahren and When Black Twitter Gets It Wrong
In the summer of 2007, I spent time in Johannesburg, South Africa, working with government officials and activists to improve local elections. South Africans were generally friendly, but I was struck by how optimistic they were about the future of the country even though apartheid had only ended, like, 15 minutes ago (1991, to be exact).…