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Resistance: The leaders of the Women's March of 1956 clutch bundles of petitions which they are about to hand over to government officials at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Photo by Alf Kumalo courtesy of MBR Projects, Olamuk & the Alf Kumalo Estate
PHOTOGRAPHY

The women history forgot are still here

Marking 70 years since the 1956 Women's March, an exhibition of Alf Kumalo's photography explores the depth, joy, and defiance of the women who fought against apartheid pass laws.

  • Heidi Thembeka Sincuba
8 min read
ECONOMY

SARB launches new R2 coins honouring Charlotte Maxeke and 1956 Women’s March

The South African Reserve Bank has launched two new commemorative R2 circulation coins celebrating struggle icon Charlotte Maxeke and the historic 1956 Women’s March.

  • Amahle Banda
3 min read
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

Queen Hoho: An inspirational woman warrior and leader of peace

Exploring the historical legacy of Queen Hoho, the courageous Khoi monarch whose strategic diplomacy with Chief Rharhabe united Khoi and amaXhosa heritage and redefined female…

  • Vusumzi Vusie Mba
8 min read
Mikhael Subotzky’s relationship with photography is as complex as that to Johannesburg, a city he first experienced at 27. Photos: courtesy of the artist and Goodman Gallery.
ART EXHIBITION

The road that brought Subotzky to Johannesburg

Artist Mikhael Subotzky's new exhibition in Johannesburg explores his family's multigenerational journey, from Nazi Germany to South Africa, intertwining personal history with…

  • Zada Hanmer
6 min read
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

Before 1956, there was 1913: The forgotten women of the first pass war

While South Africa celebrates the women of 1956, this article sheds light on the largely forgotten women of 1913. Exactly 43 years earlier, thousands of black women in the Orange…

  • Lesley Mofokeng
7 min read
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

The shirt that unbuttoned freedom

At the opening of Presidential Shirt's new flagship store, actor John Kani and former Constitutional Court judge Albie Sachs reflect on how Nelson Mandela's iconic Madiba shirt…

  • Lesego Chepape
6 min read
That terrible day: Rise ‘76: The Story of June 16th at the Market Theatre is at the Mannie Manim Theatre until 28 June. Photos: Supplied
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

Fifty years on, ‘Rise '76’ asks what we still owe the generation of June 16th

Running at the Market Theatre, 'Rise '76: The Story of June 16th' explores the profound impact of the Soweto Uprising through the lens of playwright Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni.…

  • Kibo Ngowi
9 min read
Emotional texture: Zilungile Mbombo, Mfuneli Ntumbuka and Alex Sono. The script is sharp, witty and moving. Photos: Fiona MacPherson
FEESMUSTFALL

‘Rise ’76’ confronts a generation haunted by how little it has done with its inherited freedom

A powerful and emotionally layered theatrical work revisits the 1976 Soweto Uprising through testimony, memory, contradiction and unresolved generational grief

  • Unathi Kondile
5 min read
Intentional: Billy Monama quotes Nelson Mandela on the power of music to elevate and liberate, to unite people in a shared voice.
ABDULLAH IBRAHIM

Billy Monama is staging a revival of memory

The Rebirth of Ubuntu returns with a focus on legacy, as Billy Monama pushes for music that remembers, questions and resonates beyond the stage

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read
Mother of the nation: Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, the mother who did what she could with what she had, became something more recognisable, a stand-in for a generation of women who stayed behind.
AFRICAN DOCUMENTARY FILM

Rewriting Winnie Madikizela-Mandela through the eyes of her grandchildren

Refusing neat conclusions, The Trials of Winnie Mandela invites viewers into an uncomfortable but necessary confrontation with history, legacy, and generational trauma

  • Lesego Chepape
6 min read
APARTHEID ERA HISTORY

Cynthia Shange, trailblazing actress and beauty queen, dies at 76

From Miss World contestant to celebrated actress, Cynthia Shange’s life traced the evolution of South African entertainment across generations

  • Kibo Ngowi
3 min read
Gabi Motuba Photo: Standard Bank
ABBEY LINCOLN

Gabi Motuba and the sound of sacred resistance

Gabi Motuba’s music stretches beyond jazz, transforming grief, memory and resistance into a spiritual sonic language rooted in black life and liberation

  • Thabang Monoa
7 min read
Jobrg Mayor Dada Morero speaking. A memorial service is underway in Soweto for late politician and struggle stalwart, Mosiuoa Lekota. The 77-year-old anti-apartheid activist died last week after a long illness. In the years before his passing, Lekota served as the leader of the Congress Of The People (COPE), a party he helped form after breaking away from the African National Congress (ANC). Photo Delwyn Verasamy
ANC

Morero jokes about no-confidence motions at Mosiuoa Lekota memorial

Joburg mayor humorously urged UDF leader Bantu Holomisa to stop his party’s councillor from filing motions of no confidence against him. Morero also honoured Lekota’s…

  • Lunga Mzangwe
4 min read
Formidable woman: Sally, her husband Nthato and their children. Sally was a political powerhouse in her own right, bringing impeccable struggle credentials.
ANTI APARTHEID STRUGGLE

Standing in her own name

This reflective review revisits the political courage and quiet influence that made Sally Motlana indispensable to the liberation struggle

  • Don Makatile
7 min read
Karin Mitchell’s The High Treason Club reconstructs South Africa’s Boeremag trial, revealing extremist plots, ideological fervour and the fragility of democracy
APARTHEID LEGACY

Reckoning with South Africa’s white supremacist threat

Karin Mitchell’s The High Treason Club reconstructs South Africa’s Boeremag trial, revealing extremist plots, ideological fervour and the fragility of democracy

  • Marlan Padayachee
5 min read
Manifestation: A 2024 artwork, titled we wanted to come home, by Hank Willis Thomas.
AFRICAN AMERICAN ART

Layers of meaning

Exploring shared struggles and the power of love, Hank Willis Thomas’s latest exhibition layers American and South African histories into thought-provoking artworks

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read
Kinship: Ishwar Ramlutchman was adopted by the late Zulu monarch, King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu and bestowed the name Prince Mabheka. Photos: Supplied
CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Zulu-Indian Prince Turns 50: Ishwar’s Golden Jubilee on Screen

‘From Indenture to Royalty’ traces Prince Ishwar’s journey from humble beginnings to philanthropy, wellness advocacy and cross-cultural leadership

  • Marlan Padayachee
5 min read
Filmmaker Milisuthando Bongela. Photo: Hankyeol Lee
AFRICAN CINEMA

Milisuthando: A film reckoning with our past

Through Milisuthando, cultural thinker Milisuthando Bongela confronts South Africa’s unfinished healing — reimagining nationhood, belonging and love through deeply personal…

  • Palesa Segomotso Motsumi
6 min read
The Union Buildings in Pretoria was designed by Sir Herbert Baker
ARCHITECT BIOGRAPHY

If Meryl met Herbert: A rom-com fan reads about an architect

Colonial architecture might not be your thing — but Sir Herbert Baker’s globe-trotting, empire-defining life just might surprise you

  • Rodney Ghobril
5 min read
Journalist and writer Gavin Evans
APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

Gavin Evans on fathers, faith and fearless reporting in South Africa

Memoir is a gripping account of journalistic bravery, father-son reckonings and resilience

  • Kibo Ngowi
8 min read