ROBERT SOBUKWE TOWN — The life, ideas and intellectual legacy of struggle icon Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe were placed under the spotlight when Professor Luvuyo Mthimkhulu Dondolo launched his new book, One Race: The Legacy of Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, at uMasizakhe Community Hall on Friday, 11 September. The book launch formed part of the Robert Sobukwe Heritage, Memory and Transformation Programme, organised by the Robert Sobukwe Community Development Forum in collaboration with the Dr. Beyers Naudé Local Municipality.
The event brought together members of the Sobukwe family, public representatives, academics, heritage practitioners, community members, young people and representatives from the Department of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture in the Sarah Baartman District. Dondolo opened his presentation with two songs associated with the memory and spirit of Sobukwe, including Yihla Moya ka Sobukwe, meaning “Come down Spirit of Sobukwe”, as well as Thixo uliLanga Lethu from Methodist Hymn Book 18. According to the book’s description, One Race examines several dimensions of Sobukwe’s life, including his biography, ideology, political thought, intellectual legacy and contribution to IsiXhosa literature. It also explores his pursuit of a genuinely decolonised and Africanised university and his encounters with the colonial-apartheid judiciary.
Dondolo said the book had been a long-term project dedicated to “Bhut Dini”, who he said, wanted misconceptions and misrepresentations about his father to be corrected. “This is a long project and it is one of the works that I dedicate to Bhut Dini,” said Dondolo, explaining that Dini had repeatedly expressed a desire to correct what people thought and said about his father.
The book also introduces concepts relating to African unity and solidarity, and challenges some assumptions about the intellectual influences on Sobukwe and the Africanists of his generation. Community members who attended the launch said the programme had helped them gain a deeper understanding of Sobukwe and his contribution to South African history.
The Robert Sobukwe Town Community Development Forum said the book launch marked an important point in the three-day heritage programme, but stressed that the work would continue. The forum plans to document the programme through a concept note and record capturing discussions, youth resolutions, heritage experiences and key outcomes. The document is intended to be shared with universities, heritage institutions, government structures, civil society organisations and other interested parties.
The forum said its aim was not simply to remember Sobukwe for a few days, but to ensure that his memory contributes to scholarship, dialogue, action and transformation.
“Some books are available or can be ordered from The McNaughton’s Bookshop in Church Street,” the forum said.McNaughton’s Bookshop @ 066 429 2300
