A heritage to call our own
Blessed with many peoples, cultures and languages, South Africa can mould a heritage that takes the best from the past, nurtures it in the present and preserves it for the future.
Editorial
Murder is a routine tool of social control
The scale at which grassroots activists, and participants in strikes and protests, have been murdered is a major threat to democracy, a threat which is seldom taken seriously in the elite public sphere.
EFF sexism and authoritarianism make a toxic mix
The party cannot be allowed to continue threatening, harassing and deriding women if it is serious about addressing urgent injustices in South Africa.
Mobilising against southern Africa’s ruling-party rot
Breaking the grip of southern Africa’s predatory ruling parties, which exist only to serve their own selfish needs, will require a collective vision backed by popular solidarities.
Dispatches from a province at the peak of the virus
As we celebrate our second birthday with intimate portraits of life in Gauteng as Covid-19 rages, New Frame commits anew to fair, accurate journalism that constantly questions the status quo.
State looting calls ANC legitimacy into question
Early admiration in South Africa for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic has quickly dissolved with representatives of the state stealing emergency funds on a massive scale.
We need to talk about classical liberalism
A history of enslavement, colonialism, wars and coups by so-called liberal states refutes the notion that this political ideology is the true home of inclusion and non-racialism.
Amid despair, grounds for new hope
In this moment, it is essential to take full measure of both how bad things are and the possibilities for developing a more viable and humane alternative.
SA reaps what it has sown as Covid-19 rages
Among the growing list of coronavirus symptoms is social inertia. We simply cannot afford it as thousands fall ill by the day and jobs are slashed.
Brutal evictions worsen South Africa’s urban crisis
The ANC and DA are both imposing militarised evictions, ruling in neocolonial fashion as if the people were the enemy. A progressive approach would embrace the social value of land occupations.
Sport must dismantle systematic racism in its ranks
Various sporting codes have rallied behind Black Lives Matter. But instead of flashy public relations exercises, they should show their support by addressing the racism rife in their midst.
Is the Freedom Charter a thorn in the ANC’s side?
The Freedom Charter, which has become a measure of the growing gap between political hopes and social realities, is still used from below, often against the ANC.
Gender violence: From grief to rupture to movement
High rates of femicide make South Africa one of the most dangerous places to be female. With the government failing to protect women, it’s time for a movement that will change the status quo.
The toppling of racist statues is historical poetry
With powerful energies moving against racism across the planet, opportunities are arising to question its enduring assumptions of civilisational superiority and undo its normalisation.
Protests in the US hold promise for the world
The rebellion against racist police violence in the United States opens the prospect for a global rethink on policing.
From Minneapolis to the world
As the globe was colonised, the count of who was considered human narrowed, first along religious, then racial lines. Now, the fires of rebellion against this system are burning again.
South Africa faces a stark political choice
As the intersecting health and economic crises deepen, the country will have to choose between a politics rooted in social solidarity and a politics rooted in exclusion and containment.
Food production must change to beat hunger
The political consequences of exacerbated hunger during the Covid-19 lockdown are not yet clear. But historically, mass hunger has frequently led to a breakdown in consent for the established order.
Xenophobia on the rise as Covid-19 roils the planet
Racist and xenophobic politicians have abused the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent national lockdowns to bang the drum for their chauvinism and propaganda.
The urgency of critique
In this time of crisis in which many hard-won rights have been limited, it is vital that free and open debate be encouraged – including when it is critical of the state.
Freedom not yet
The ANC’s access to state power has not been used to honour the commitments the organisation made to the people who gave it their trust. Oppression has spread, like a virus.