African National Congress Archives - Institute of the Black World 21st Century

A warehouse smolders in Durban, South Africa, after supporters of former President Jacob Zuma erupted in violence earlier this month when Zuma was jailed.

Mandela’s dream for South Africa is in ruins

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions

Following the imprisonment of Jacob Zuma, and at a time when inequality is worse than during apartheid, mob violence is threatening the country’s constitutional order. By Robin Wright, The New…

Liberalism in South Africa isn’t only for white people—or black people who “want to be white”

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions

By Steven Friedman — Liberalism is meant to be about freedom for all individuals, regardless of race. But linking liberalism to whiteness as is happening now is not new in South Africa. Most activists who fought for black freedom dismissed liberalism as a white ideology designed to tame black people, not to free them. This was hardly surprising, since many white liberals spoke and acted as if liberalism was exactly that:…

Securing Ramaphosa’s Presidency – At What Cost?

By IBW21Commentaries/Opinions

People cherished many expectations for Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency. Many of these were not necessarily realistic and may have derived from a sense of relief in the departure of Jacob Zuma, rather than what may have been possible for Ramaphosa to do. By Raymond Suttner, Polity — In the early months Ramaphosa engendered considerable confidence as a result of his apparently methodical, systematic and measured way of handling his office. This…