Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
Frantz FanonIn the news
Viral status: Bookstores dedicate entire shelves to books “As Seen on TikTok” and “TikTok sensation”. Photo: Kingsmead Book Fair
BOOKTOK

Booktok, performance and the politics of reading

In the age of BookTok, reading has evolved from a solitary pleasure into a public performance. This article delves into how social media has reshaped our relationship with books,…

  • Shaun Langa
8 min read
SOUTH AFRICA

Graft, stereotyping fit like a glove

Drawing parallels between the acclaimed series The Wire and South Africa's Madlanga Commission, this article delves into the deep-seated issues of corruption, racial…

  • Donovan E Williams
7 min read
What’s driving anti-immigrant healthcare blockades? Sharon Ekambaram from Lawyers for Human Rights says it’s everything from the sky-high cost of Zimbabwean passports and corruption to South Africa’s institutionalised xenophobia — and a growing global intolerance of migrants. (Bhekisisa team)
SOUTH AFRICA

The migrant and the citizen: we need new forms of political community

South Africa's struggles with xenophobia, particularly against migrants from elsewhere in Africa, are not new. This article argues that blaming migrants deflects from deeper…

  • Suren Pillay
9 min read
The book foregrounds “the experiences, the ideas and the reflections of people who were actual participants in 1976, both leading figures but also young people who, on the morning of June 16th, did not see themselves as political activists,” says the author. Photo: Historical Papers Research Archive, University of the Witwatersrand South Africa.
SOUTH AFRICA

The uprising they turned into a party: What Youth Day keeps getting wrong

Every June 16th, South Africa celebrates Youth Day with music and speeches, often reposting the iconic image of Hector Pieterson. But historian Noor Nieftagodien argues these…

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read
A new struggle: The 1976 pupils wanted to dismantle Bantu education. The 2016 #FeesMustFall students, wanting a seat at Wits and UCT, were fighting for access to a system 1976 rejected. File Photo
SOWETO UPRISING

The Arc betrayed

The 1976 generation fought against Bantu Education for liberation, but their grandchildren, born after 1994, navigate a different landscape. This article explores whether the…

  • Sandile Memela
11 min read
New generation: The Fees Must Fall movement elevated demands for accessible, free higher education to the centre of national discourse.
YOUTH ACTIVISM

Frantz Fanon: Every generation must discover its mission or betray it

From the political stagnation of 1944 to the economic exclusion of today, every generation of young South Africans has faced unique challenges. This article explores their…

  • Cornelius Monama
8 min read