Page 17 - September Issue

History Boulevard

For as long as I can remember, history has been a topic of great interest to me. This can be
accredited to a couple of reasons, but the two main ones are, and I believe the following

quotes best express my reasoning:

-“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree
without roots.” Marcus Garvey

-“To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” Elie Wiesel, Night

I strongly believe that it’s important for us to acknowledge our history as a people and tell the

stories of our fallen heroes, known and unknown. I always use the analogy of a relay race,

life being a race track, we all, the runners in the relay. It is our duty to ensure that we receive
the baton from the previous generation and then run the race to the best of our abilities by

living a life of significance however you might define it and pursuing your passion. Once we
have accomplished that, we pass on the baton to the next generation. Since the win, reaching

the finish line, is a team effort, everyone’s contribution is recognised and celebrated. We

make it our mission to not forget any historical event, because every story matters, and not to
be bitter but because it is a part of our identity and to ensure that history does not repeat itself.

The events of history brought us here today and we decide what happens from here onwards,
what tomorrows history will be and decide how we can influence the next generation.

Beyond just sharing these stories, it is my hope that we will make an effort to commit to
gaining more knowledge about our history and engaging in conversations about both it and

our present, what we can learn from it and come up with long term solutions where

necessary. It is our individual duty to make a difference and live in a time of liberation that
we have defined ourselves, using our own terms and not what society deems fit.

With that said, I wish to share the story of someone I personally believe was an icon,
Solomon Mahlangu. I will be objective, to allow you, the reader, to decide whether he was a

hero or not. Either way, he is part of our history and it is these stories that we need to be

knowledgeable about. I will keep it brief but will attach links at the end of this article in case
you are interested to further read on Mr Solomon Mahlangu. I hope you will.

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