The Greek form of government was the city-state. Every Greek city was an independent state. At its best, in the city state of Athens, the public assembly of all the citizens made all important decisions on such...
Every Cook can govern
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BLACK NOISE
Black Noise is a new column that features young black writers dedicated to critiquing and undermining racism, sexism and economic exploitation in South Africa and beyond. I can't even imagine the terror Anene must have felt on that construction site. The details of...
In Memoriam: Chinua Achebe
(1930-2013) | by The Botsotso Collective Chinua Achebe was a writer with massive influence in Nigeria, in Africa and, indeed, in the world. He was the first African writer to achieve this status with his first novel, Things Fall Apart, published in 1958, which was...
East African Opposition, Really? | by Andre Vltchek
In the three Western outposts of the eastern part of Africa – Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya – the opposition had either been totally smashed or is rotting in jail. Alternatively, it has 'ceased to exist'. In East Africa, those who are in power and those who want to be...
Marikana mine massacre: why British lawyer has joined fight for justice
James Nichol explains his decision to volunteer to represent forgotten families of dead strikers When South Africa's apartheid police massacred 69 people in Sharpeville in 1960, the revulsion spread as far as northern England. James Nichol, then 15, took part in his...
After the massacre: The Women’s Solidarity Forum | by Jeanne Hefez
Nomfulela's husband, Apa November, arrives from work around 3pm, covered in sweat under the scorching sun of Marikana and overly dressed in his rock driller outfit. He has spent twelve hours underground chasing a meager bonus with a 75kg machine in hand. Before the...
AMCU at the Commission: “It was one big crime’ | by Jeanne Hefez
In its first months of hearings, the Farlam Commission has shown us clear evidence of a bungled police cover up of a massacre, the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) own attempt to hide its role, and an alarming level of complicity between state and capital. The...
The Durban International Film Festival: Showcasing local film talent | by Crystal Orderson
From humble beginnings in two lecture rooms at the University of KwaZulu-Natal 33 years ago, the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) has become the must-attend event in the annual film calendar. For ten days in July this year, the who's who of the South African...
Farewell to a great thinker, educator and activist | by Jonathan Jansen
Language was the tool of Dr Neville Alexander's fight for freedom, writes Jonathan Jansen, rector and vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State. "I was nervous as I made my way through Salt River to my first physical meeting with my childhood hero. No youth...