When I left for college in 1990 I was equipped with three "gifts" from my older brother, Sean. One was a threadbare t-shirt (at left) which staked out my position on a global issue in which I was certainly interested, but only minimally informed. The other was a cassette recording of Peter Gabriel's powerful and deeply moving anti-apartheid song, Biko. The recording below contains scenes and images from the movie, Cry Freedom, which centers on the death of Steven Biko, leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, and the efforts of journalist Donald Woods to inform the international community of the brutal murder of Biko in police custody.
The final "gift" was imparted during Sean's university graduation, where Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the commencemnt speaker. Listening to Tutu deepened my understanding of apartheid-era policies and the challenges of dismantling that oppressive system and charting a course for a free and democratic South Africa. In many ways these three "gifts" from Sean inspired my interest in South African history and my concern for current issues surrounding race, reconciliation, and the forging of new cultural identities out of the violent ruptures of the past.
Over the years I have added to my "songs of protest" playlist. In fact, integrating music into the world history curriculum has been an essential part of my teaching tool kit. Below are some other tunes I have used in the context of exploring South African history and culture.
Lyrics and chords for the next song, N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrika (God Bless Africa), can be found here.