Text: Makgotso Nkosi Photography: Thabo “Flo” Mokale The township is a construct of racial segregation, its architecture (squashed and small) already sets a tone designed not to inspire. It has been many years since the… More
Response to Richard Pithouse
Writer: Athi Mongezeleli Joja
Image: Africa Research Institute
In a recent Mail & Guardian Richard Pithouse published another of his dishonest articles titled, The ANC is Misusing the Land Question. Pithouse prefaces his thesis by way of a sequencing of historical events that trace collective resistances against the commodification and dispossession of land. Perhaps his voyage from antiquity to the present isn’t only to refresh our memory of the historical longue duree of the struggle against privatisation of public and conquered land but also to pepper his annotations with a dash of scholarly vigour it deserves. This kaleidoscopic choice of events typically begins with running commentaries on the histories of the mother countries and towards the end somewhat climaxes, as always is the case, with the classical discourse on how in Africa these dreams explode into nocturnal monstrosities. Suppose Pithouse’s earnest inclination is to compose a trace of shared struggles and that it is inconsequential that his departure point is the colonial centre, the West. In fact, through this universalist reach, a systematic mission of elisions and falsifications is under way – a deadly ideology of conquest hiding behind a semi-conscientious objection. Continue reading “Response to Richard Pithouse”
Erasing Black Women From Her-story: June 16 Student Uprising & The Erasure Of Women
Writer: Thando Sipuye
Photographs: SA History Online
Two weeks ago marked 41 years since the Soweto Students’ Uprising that took place on the 16th of June 1976, a day that ushered a decisive turning point in the liberation struggle in Azania (SA).
Today the day is a celebrated national holiday re-branded as ‘Youth Day’, a day in which contributions of young people in the liberation project are usually evoked and celebrated. In fact, the whole month of June has become christened as ‘Youth Month’. Continue reading “Erasing Black Women From Her-story: June 16 Student Uprising & The Erasure Of Women”
Ode To Black
Black is the colour of mourning and melancholy. Black epitomises stealth; it is
central to clandestine ventures and cool lonesomeness. Black is the colour of
executive cars, gadgets, accessories and clothing. Eternally beautiful, Black is the
colour of the universe, the infinite deep dark unknown abyss. Black is a wormhole,
mysterious and ever-receding, absorbing everything around it and revealing
nothing. Black is all colours mixed together, perhaps the sum of the visible. Black is
the only colour without light, though full and empty.
A Beautiful Struggle
Text: Flo Foundation
Photography: Flo Mokale
Thabo “Flo” Mokale, father and founder of the Flo Foundation has always been a lover of images. Whether it’s through his poetry or performances, he always strives to capture the mind with the magic of his visual and spoken imagery. Continue reading “A Beautiful Struggle”
When Malema Doesn’t Perform
Writer: Thato Rossouw
Photograph: Siphosihle Mkhwanazi
I practice what any right-minded person would refer to as layman, armchair politics – ya’ know, the type to never get me invited to be part of any ANN7 political panel – and, as a result, my understanding of the current South African political landscape is as shitty as Madam Hoarse-Voice’s claim that she was suspended from the DA because she’s White (I mean really, what the fuck is wrong with this woman?). Anyway, because of how shitty my understanding of South African politics is, whenever something major happens in the country’s politics, I draw my inspiration for the analysis of such events from the grammatically incorrect and sometimes half-baked political analyses that I usually find myself perusing through on my Facebook timeline. Continue reading “When Malema Doesn’t Perform”
Review – The Suit
Writer: Sibusiso Mkwanazi
Photographs: Supplied
“Umtsetse”. That is one of those words that seems not to exist in the English language. It is the “fold” that is ironed into a pair of pants. This line separates the men from the boys and the girls from the ladies. Can Themba’s The Suit does this with surgical precision as it clearly differentiates right from wrong, no matter the justification. Continue reading “Review – The Suit”
Sabelo Soko – Umkhondo
Writer: Xolani Tembu
Photograph: Musa N Nxumalo
Listening to Sabelo Soko’s second offering, Umkhondo, one can almost hear echoes of Sipho Mabuse’s Thaba Bosiu, those of the iconic Madala Kunene’s Ubombo and even Hugh Masekela’s Stimela. Needless to say, this album sets Soko hills apart from his compeers, certainly earning him the esteemed title ‘Bra’ Sabza. Continue reading “Sabelo Soko – Umkhondo”
The Brutal Murder Of Matlhomola Jonas Mosweu
Text: The Black Power Front Statement
Photograph: The Black Power Front
Reacting to the murder of the 18-year-old Black boy, Michael Brown Jr, by a white police officer, Darren Dean Wilson in August 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, Michael Jeffries wrote:
“…anti-blackness more accurately captures the dehumanization and constant physical danger that black people face. The “anti” in “anti-blackness” is denial of black people’s right to life.’ Continue reading “The Brutal Murder Of Matlhomola Jonas Mosweu”
Umzi Watsha – The Politics of (im)patience
Photography: Ayabonga Cawe
Text: Ciko Story Concepts
We live in compelling times. South Africa’s trajectory is shifting and its custodians are growing in consciousness – and in action. The times call for deep, meaningful and honest reflection and conversation. This is needed in order for us to enjoy a fruitful translation of those convictions in the immediate spaces we occupy. ‘UmziWatsha- The politics of (im) patience’ puts this under the spotlight. Continue reading “Umzi Watsha – The Politics of (im)patience”
We’re Done Talking To White People
Writer: Xola Skosana
Photograph: Supplied
We should stop fooling ourselves, bending over backwards trying to explain ourselves to white people. We have done enough talking in this country, we have four Nobel Peace Laureates to prove our stupidity. We have written long winded speeches to impress upon whites that South Africa is an abnormal society.
16 Shots
Photography: Musa N. Nxumalo
Writer: Percy Mabandu
SMAC Gallery is proud to present 16 Shots, Musa N. Nxumalo’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. This new body of work comprises sixteen photographic prints that continue the themes and focus of Nxumalo’s ongoing project, The Anthology of Youth.
The Contested Legacies And Continued Erasure of Bantu Biko and Mangaliso Sobukwe After 94
Writer: Veli Mbele
Photograph: Supplied
The state ceremony that took place at uMgcina’s grave (Bantu Biko) recently, predictably ignited endless and emotionally-charged conversations, particularly within the Black Consciousness and Pan Afrikanist circles, with some going as far as describing what happened at Biko’s grave as a “disgrace” and “insult”, to both Biko and Mangaliso Sobukwe. For those who don’t know, there is a deeper and more painful context to these emotionally-charged and legitimate reactions. Continue reading “The Contested Legacies And Continued Erasure of Bantu Biko and Mangaliso Sobukwe After 94”
Marat/Sade: A View From The Colony
Writer: Ziyana Lategan
Photographs: Oscar O’ryan
The Baxter Theatre’s 2017 staging of Peter Weiss’ The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of Marquis de Sade or Marat/Sade is without doubt, superbly performed. The stage, made to look like the inside of an asylum, made to look like a stage, was perfectly Brechtian in its effect. The audience, functioning as the actual audience in the asylum, was constantly made complicit in the spectacle of the performance Continue reading “Marat/Sade: A View From The Colony”
Celibacy Blues
Writer: Ms Doo-Wop
Photograph: Musa N. Nxumalo
I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other night. Both of us are new in America, five months into our ‘international degrees’ and already feeling the emptiness of the promise of awayness.
We have both left lovers back home.
It is not that he does not have the opportunity to cheat or that he doesn’t want to. What he is afraid of is the freedom that comes with being anonymous. Continue reading “Celibacy Blues”
Blackness As A Permanent State of Nervousness
Text: Veli Mbele
Photograph: Supplied
Nothing best expresses the totalising-all-consuming-debilitating power of whiteness than the psychosis wherein statements by Blacks such as “we want our land back or “we must build Black power”- makes some Black people so nervous that they sometimes slide into self-induced depression (on behalf of the whites they know or love).
Continue reading “Blackness As A Permanent State of Nervousness”
Ke e rekilemachina-eng
Writer: Blackhouse Kollective
Photography: Blackhouse Kollective
the blackhouse kollective educational exhibition at bree taxi-rank,during december 2016, publicly defied the rainbow reconciliation farce. displaying work titled sankofa – lest we forget, our exposition was greeted by police bullying. shabbily donned street-vendors poised helplessly at the receiving end of that police violence.
Feta Kgomo O Tshware Motho
Writer: Mogobe Ramose
Photograph: Makgotso Nkosi
In his De Legibus, book III, part III, sub. VIII Cicero wrote that “saluspopulisupremalexesto”. The various translations of this maxim do not deviate from the basic insight that the health of the people shall be the supreme law. It is significant that Cicero makes this jussive declaration under the important title, “On laws”. Whatever laws there may be in a given human community, they ought to recognise, respect, protect and promote the foundation upon which they are built, namely, the health or well-being of all the individuals constituting the community. Continue reading “Feta Kgomo O Tshware Motho”
Cultural Confusion in Post-Colonial Countries
Writer: Yannisha Yalla
Photograph: Fizz Designs (Twitter)
So many questions need to be asked about identities and cultures in post-colonial countries. Post-colonial countries are flooded with people who have been uprooted and then forced to adapt to a mainstream culture. This mainstream culture is usually white. The dispossessed are then taught to be grateful that their minds have been colonized.
Continue reading “Cultural Confusion in Post-Colonial Countries”
Gwen Ngwenya & The Limitations of Neo-Liberal Selective Constitutionalism
Writer: Wanelisa Xaba
Photograph: Supplied
One of the consequences of challenging hegemonic Euro-Western white supremacist patriarchal canons in a colonial society are paternalistic views depicting one as a rogue or an empty vessel unable to engage ideologically. Living in occupied Azania where knowledge is centred on Euro-imperialist colonial hetero cisnormative ideals as the standard, renders white-supremacist defenders like Amanda/Gwen Ngwenya unable to engage with the content of decolonisation. Continue reading “Gwen Ngwenya & The Limitations of Neo-Liberal Selective Constitutionalism”
