Why we dishonor a national hero.
The week's news at a glance.
South Africa
Xolela Mangcu
Business Day
South Africa has failed to honor one of its greatest leaders, said Xolela Mangcu in Johannesburg’s Business Day. Stephen Biko and his Black Consciousness Movement were the driving force behind the Soweto Uprising of 1976, the event that awakened the rest of the world to the horrors of apartheid. After police bludgeoned Biko to death the following year, his name became a synonym for resistance to oppression. Americans and Europeans honored his memory through songs and movies. But the current South African government, dominated by the African National Congress party, has yet to give Biko any posthumous honor. Our “mean-spirited leaders” pretend “that the ANC is the only movement that sacrificed for the liberation of our country.” The ANC’s petty insistence on maintaining this lie “makes it impossible for us to tell the full story of our heritage.” Biko would not have been so selfish. Like Nelson Mandela, he was devoted to equality for all, not personal glory. And also like Mandela, he was almost always photographed smiling. Are there no such “generous leaders in the ANC” anymore?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Ivory Coast reels from surge of homophobic attacks fuelled by online influencers
Under the Radar Once considered a safe haven, West African nation's LGBTQ+ citizens says they are now afraid to be seen in public
By Tess Foley-Cox Published
-
How did Trump shift voters to the right and win?
Today's Big Question Latino voters led a national shift to the right
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
How do presidential transitions work?
The Explainer Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20 after a two-month process
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published