africa

27Dec

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

POLITICS

Father Of South Africa’s ‘Rainbow Nation’: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Mpilo Tutu has died at the age of 90. Archbishop Tutu earned the respect and love of millions of South Africans and the world. He carved out a permanent place in their hearts and minds, becoming known affectionately as “The Arch”. When South Africans woke up on the morning of 7 April, 2017 to protest against then President Jacob Zuma’s removal of the respected Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Archbishop Tutu left his Hermanus retirement home to join the protests. He was 86 years old at the time, and his health was frail. But protest was in his blood. In his view, no government was legitimate unless it represented all its people well. There was still that sharpness in his words when he said that We will pray for the downfall of a government that misrepresents...

Mandela was a flawed icon. But without him South Africa would be a sadder place

I was one of the thousands who watched Nelson Mandela, the South African liberation struggle hero, leave prison on 11 February 1990, and then mount the podium in front of Cape Town’s City Hall, expressing the hope that the apartheid government would agree to negotiations so that there might no longer be the need for armed struggle against apartheid to continue. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s freedom struggle icon and first black president, continues to be revered around the world. He said: Today, the majority of South Africans, black and white, recognise that apartheid has no future. It has to be ended by our decisive mass action … We have waited too long for our freedom. He appealed to white South Africans to join us in the safety of a new South Africa. The freedom movement is a politica...

Biden’s big night with moderates, African Americans and Baby Boomers

With the race for the Democratic nomination narrowed to two front-runners, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, six states went to the polls on March 10: Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota and Washington. We asked three scholars to examine the primary results. Keisha N. Blain, University of Pittsburgh The March 10 Democratic primary results highlight the power of the African American vote. Despite Sanders’ efforts to reach African American voters, he was unable to win their vote on Tuesday night. He underperformed in several states, including some he previously won in 2016. At the heart of Sanders’ loss is the African American vote. While African American voters are not a monolithic group, the majority lent their support to Biden on March 10. There are many factors that acco...