FREEDOM PARK QUARTERLY BULLETIN

QUARTERLY STAKE HOLDER MAGAZINE JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2020 CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF OUR EXISTENCE

This year’s National Heritage theme is titled “Celebrating South Africa’s Living Human Treasures “ it depicts what Freedom Park, a National Heritage, whose main mandate is to honour the heroes and heroines whose sacrificed their lives for the liberation of our country.

~ Mr Ronnie Makopo This year Freedom Park celebrates 20 years of its Anniversary. In celebrating the 20 years of existence, It is a pleasure to note several achievements in the operations of Freedom Park such as the inscription of more than 139 000 names of our heroes and heroines on the Wall of Names, which is our main heritage, the Pan Africanist Archives, through a series of dialogues, in which they engaged Justices like : Dikgang Moseneke, Yvonne Mokgoro, Albe Sacs , Richard Goldstone , Johan Kriegler FREEDOM PARK RECAPS NATIONS ASPIRATIONS as well as Advocate George Bizos before he passed on.

The Pan Africanist also engaged a member of the Rivonia trial, Dennis Goldberg and many other We buried them for what they were freedom stalwarts. Our fallen heroes and our history The dialogues also included another series on women freedom fighters entitled ‘flowers of the nation of A monument in our hearts we shall mount the revolution’ in which women freedom fighters like the current Minster of State Security Ms Ayanda Their unheard- of names to engrave Dlodlo were engaged.

On times sturdy wings their ideal we shall pin Freedom Park’s //hapo museum is a storage of numerous living treasures, such as the artefacts that Africa’s priceless heritage to mankind were used by our ancestor’s pre-colonial rule. Freedom Park is currently a temporal storage for the African National Congress’s Umkhonto we Sizwe Radio Freedom, which is indeed a living treasure. One would have thought that during this unfortunate pandemic period, Freedom Park would cease to rise to the occasion and thereby lose its hard-earned rapport to our communities and indeed our global village. That was not the case. The organisation was rock solid and came up with differentiation strategies to deliver service to the public. Sepamla It was remarkable, informative and indeed refreshing to watch the Political /Liberation Heritage Virtual Dialogue on the 19 September 2020 in which the Minister of Sports Arts and Culture, the CEO Jane Mufamadi, Ambassador Thenjiwe Mtinso, Christine Qunta participated. On the 27 August the CEO was one of the 18 presenters on the Round Table of Civil BRICS ( Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) Unity, wherein she presented several topics such as ‘ The Role of Museums’;’ The Importance of International Cultural Exchange to the global community. etc.

Here’s to another 20 years, congratulations!

02 03 Celebrating our 20th Anniversary of being in In line with the National Heritage month existence! An extraordinary time, a time to theme: ‘Celebrating South Africa’s Living remember and to reflect on 20 years. It’s an Human Treasures’, the theme speaks to anniversary of a family that only grew strong every aspect of Freedom Park’s defying the odds. I want to thank Management deliverables. I therefore, would like to and Staff for their sheer commitment and thank the Department of Sport, Arts and deserve a big round of applause for all the Culture for such creativity and relevance. unconditional dedications throughout the years. You have always been an integral part of the HoD Public Participation Ms M Makoela journey. Without you, this journey would never have been so epic. The enormous sense of pride to be part of Freedom Park cannot be understated. ~Ms Jane Mufamadi All our commemorative activities have been virtual including Heritage Day and I extend my utmost thanks, to the performers for their exhilarating cultural performances that Freedom Park celebrates our rich and vibrant heritage, history and culture as South were rendered at this event, through Music, Poetry, Dance and Art. Africans and Africans. As we instill a sense of national pride in this icon of humanity and freedom we create an awareness that a site exists where those that died fighting for Our Online Heritage Day Spectacular Activity was a resounding success of course freedom and liberation in this country are being honoured. coupled with throngs of tourists on the day. The Park was finally opened to tourists. It was Level 1. Our South African heritage is a proud, poignant and often painful one. But it is also one that speaks of triumph, perseverance and what we can accomplish as South Africans Visitors took full advantage of the free entrance and responded to the Heritage Day and Africans. festivities. Dressed in traditional attire and happiness etched on their faces and the freedom of lockdown Level 1, the Park came alive with the squeals of laughter from The diversity of our beliefs, traditions, culture and language is that which sets us apart children and adults alike. as a nation. It is a constant opportunity for each of us to grow, to learn and to be enriched. As we celebrate who we are and where we come from, we invite each and every South African to celebrate with us – at a place that captures the heart and soul of South Africa in one breath-taking space: Freedom Park.

On 21 September Freedom Park opened for business. It is all systems go. There could not have been a more opportune time to open the national heritage monument just few days before the National Heritage Day commemorations. We look forward, to receiving you as our guests.

It is a time of great nostalgia, reminiscing about the successes, and challenges that came our way but also about the trust and support which have been our biggest drivers for our continued growth!

04 05 TRIBUTE TO MAMA ALBERTINA SISULU

Albertina Sisulu was born on 21 October 1918 in the Tsomo district of the Transkei. It was with Walter that she attended the first conference of the ANC Youth League where Albertina Sisulu was the only women present. In 1948 she joined the ANC Women’s League and in the 1950s she began to assume a leadership role – both in the ANC and in the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).

She was one of the organizers of the historic anti-pass Women’s March in 1956 and opposed inferior `Bantu’ education. Her home in Orlando West in was used as a classroom for alternative education until a law was passed against it. Both Albertina and her husband were jailed several times for their political activities and she was constantly harassed by the Security Police. She became the first women to be arrested under the General Laws Amendment Act. The Act gave the police the power to hold suspects in detention for 90 days without charging them and in Albertina’s case she was placed in solitary confinement incommunicado for almost two months while the Security Branch looked for her husband. As Walter, sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island, and his co-accused left the courtroom, Albertina Sisulu, some ANC Women’s League members and other supporters rushed out to form a guard of honour to meet the men singing ‘Nkosi Sikele i’Afrika’ in Church Square in in solidarity and mourning. For her activism Sisulu was put in detained and put in solitary confinement again in 1981 and in 1985. She also suffered banning’s and house arrest, but managed to keep links between jailed members of the ANC and those in exile. In 1983 Albertina was elected co- president of the United Democratic Front (UDF), and in June 1989, the government finally granted her a passport. The following month she led a delegation of UDF leaders to Europe and the United States. In October 1989, the last restrictions on the Sisulu family were lifted and Walter was released from Robben Island. In 1994, Albertina Sisulu served in the first democratically elected Parliament. She and her husband and son Zwelakhe have won numerous humanitarian awards. On the 2 June 2011 she died at her Linden home in Johannesburg, aged 92. An orchid discovered in 1918 has been named after Albertina Sisulu in honour of her centenary in 2018 which will be named the Albertina Sisulu Orchid.

Lauren Marx

06 07 STEPHEN BANTU BIKO 18 DECEMBER 1946 – 12 SEPTEMBER 1977 As we commemorate the 41ST death anniversary of struggle-hero . Let us not forget what Steve Biko stood for. This is an opportunity to unpack the dichotomy of our divided identity and allegiances. One of the hallmarks of the Black Consciousness Movement led by Biko, was the development of black culture, black pride, black intellectualism and black literature.

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." Like all of Steve Biko's writings, those words testify to the passion, courage, and keen insight that made him one of the most powerful figures in South Africa's struggle against .

We pay tribute to this fearless son of the African soil.

Steve Biko was born in King William’s Town on 18 December 1946. Steve Biko excelled in school as a youth but his political activities caused him to be expelled from Lovedale High School. Biko was expelled for his political activities from Lovedale College in the Eastern Cape and high school education was received at the Roman Catholic Tribute to Kwame Nkrumah – the Founding Father of Marianhill, Natal. Biko matriculated in 1965 and decided to study medicine at the University of Natal within the non-European section in in the beginning of 1966. African Nationalism – 21 September 1909 Biko was then admitted to the medical school at the University of Natal (Black section). A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. He discontinued his The Gallery of Leaders pays tribute to the studies in 1972 to work fulltime for the Black Community Programme (BCP) in Durban. achievements of exceptional leaders who When he was banned in 1973 he set up a BCP office in King William’s Town where he brought about qualitative leaps in the continued to work struggle for humanity and freedom nationally, continentally and internationally. One of While in Medical School, Biko became involved in the NUSAS (National Union of South those leaders who are deemed exemplary African Students). Biko became more involved in the daily struggle that faced Blacks, role models is Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s and he decided to quit medical school. In 1968, Steve Biko became the co-founder and first president. first president of the all-Black South African Students’ Organization (SASO). Biko’s political activities eventually drew the attention of the South African government resulting Celebrating Black Excellence was what in him being banned in 1973. Kwame Nkrumah was all about. Kwame Nkrumah was born on Sept. 21, 1909, in The banning restricted Biko from talking to more than one person a time in an attempt to Nkroful, Gold Coast (Ghana). He received his suppress the rising political movement, but the banning did not stop Biko’s commitment education from Catholic missionaries and to activism. For the next four years, he continued to spread his message at gatherings later trained as a teacher. Later on, he taught and with his underground publication called "Frank Talk". During this period Biko was elementary schools in town. Decades after often harassed, arrested, and detained by the South African Police. On August 18, 1977, his death in 1972, Nkrumah remained a Biko was seized by the police and detained. Biko was held in prison for twenty-four days symbol of the movement for African were he was interrogated, starved, and brutally beaten. On 12 September 1977, Steve independence in the 1950s and 1960s. Biko became the forty-first person in South Africa to die while being held in the custody of the South African Police.

Lauren Marx

08 09 In 2000, he was voted Africa’s Man of the Millennium by BBC World Service listeners Freedom Park mourns the loss of George Bizos, anti-apartheid icon and renowned Over his lifetime, Nkrumah was awarded honorary doctorates from Lincoln University, human rights lawyer who defended on treason charges for which he Moscow State University, Cairo University, Jagiellonian University in Poland, escaped the death penalty. After representing some of the country's best known Humboldt University, and many others. Nkrumah wrote over 20 books. One of his political activists during the apartheid years, Mr Bizos became one of the architects most prominent books is I Speak of Freedom (1961). An excerpt of the book explains of South Africa's new constitution. his thinking: Mandela, called Bizos “a man who combined a sympathetic nature with an incisive “Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good mind’ their friendship spanning almost seven decades. His wit, intellect and legal in the world. I believe strongly and sincerely that with the deep-rooted wisdom and acumen coupled with his warm personality was legendary. He will be remembered dignity, the innate respect for human lives, the intense humanity that is our heritage, for his towering legacy, a prolific orator and a great human being who had no the African race, united under one federal government, will emerge not as just another parallels in South African polity. world bloc to flaunt its wealth and strength, but as a Great Power whose greatness is indestructible because it is built not on fear, envy and suspicion, nor won at the On behalf of the CEO, Council, Management and Staff of Freedom Park we bid expense of others, but founded on hope, trust, friendship and directed to the good of farewell to an extraordinary human being and honour his contribution to a free and all mankind.” liberated South Africa. Our heartfelt condolences to the ANC, his family and friends.

Courtesy: Atlanta Black Star

TRIBUTE TO GEORGE BIZOS TRIBUTE TO PRISCILLA JANA

10 11 On August 27, the Second Online «Round table» of the Civil BRICS 2020 «International While the phrase is very lightly used nowadays, I have no doubt that with the Cultural Cooperation for Strengthening BRICS Unity» Working Group was held with the passing of Ms Priscilla Jana, we can with confidence and a heavy heart, say an era participation of international group Members. has ended. Ms Jana was known as the “Peoples Lawyer”, gutsy, tenacious and passionate about the plight and struggles of the marginalised in our society, but was Representatives of well-known international public organizations, scientists, writers, also a legendary figure in South African revolutionary politics historians, journalists and students from all BRICS countries took part in the discussion “International Co-Chair of the Working Group from South Africa, Ms. Jane Mufamadi, Known for her indomitable spirit, nothing could wane her energy. Her death is an Focusing on culture as the BRICS countries` soft power factor, Ms. Jane Mufamadi noted irreplaceable loss to the entire human rights movement in the country, but it is also a «the importance of international cultural and educational exchange, youth development time to celebrate her illustrious career and life. programs, professional and leadership programs, women empowerment, as well as the role of museums and cultural institutions.” We remember her here at Freedom Park with the fondest memories as she chaired the Human Rights Event in collaboration with SAHRC in 2019, her formidable presence belied the gentleness, humility and the courageous crusader that she was, feted with numerous awards both locally and internationally.

On behalf of the CEO, Council, Management and Staff of Freedom Park, our heartfelt condolences to the SAHRC, her children, family and friends. May you find comfort during this tragic time knowing that her life will inspire and encourage a new generation of Human Rights lawyers who will carry forward her legacy.

CONTRIBUTING TO NATIONBUILDING AND SOCIAL COHESION

NOMINEE IN STANDARD BANK TOP WOMEN AWARD – MS JANE MUFAMADI CEO FREEDOM PARK The CEO Ms Jane Mufamadi was selected as a finalist for the prestigious Standard Bank Top Women Award. Now more than ever, it is crucial to recognise the companies and individuals who are making impactful change for gender empowerment in South Africa. The Standard Bank Top Women Awards honours those whose unfailing vision and innovative leadership have positively impacted women in South Africa. In response to the unprecedented global pandemic, the awards have moved to become completely virtual. The virtual event will salute those accelerating transformation and creating awareness around women empowerment while also facilitating discussions and workshops around furthering gender empowerment in the country.

12 13 THROUGH THE HALLWAY OF TIME

14 15 FREEDOM PARK – NEW FEES STRUCTURE

R65 per Adult, R45 for Children/Senior Citizens Editorial Team R150.00 for International Visitors Public Participation HOD: Ms. Modjadji Makoela Guided tours 9am, 12pm and 3pm Editor: Rogini Govender Layout and Graphic Designer: Olebogeng Mafoko We value and appreciate your patronage!!! Photography: Vincent Vilakazi/ Olebogeng Mafoko

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Ubuntu Festival – 12 December 2020 Open Day and Event - December 16

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