The segregation enforced during apartheid has not only ensured widely disparate South African university landscapes, but also framed constructions of activism in historical discourses of racial disenfranchisement and marginalisation. As a result, activism is implicitly and explicitly associated with disadvantaged universities; with black students;…

This article is based on our two narratives through which we explore how Freirean thought had an impact on our respective praxis as academic activists in apartheid South Africa. We reflect specifically on the influence the work of Freire had on informing and advancing our respective struggles against apartheid education. This article therefore…

This article addresses the challenge of reclaiming higher education (HE) as a public good for building effective democracies. We use Bernstein's model of pedagogic rights and Fraser's model of social justice to develop a normative framework for discussing how universities in unequal societies might mitigate social injustice. Referring to recent…

Data suggest that having a positive, internalized racial identity is related to healthy outcomes. Although some scholars have highlighted the role of education in providing a context to develop such an identity, there is a dearth of research in this area. This study analyzed racial life narrative interviews with 15 Black South Africans to explore…

This paper considers the importance of 'in-between spaces' within the academy for challenging dominant institutional culture and hegemonic power relations towards a 'de-colonised' university. It questions 'mainstreaming' of transformational initiatives, as this can bring about regulation, rather than the turbulence that is often what is needed for…

"Doing Justice to History" challenges everyday racism in society and offers counter-stories to the singular narratives that still prevail among national historians and in school curricula. It will be a key resource for the annual Black History Month in both the UK and the US. But the book's key purpose is to argue for deeper and…

In 2014, through the University of the Free State's (UFS) Institute for Reconciliation and Social Justice (IRSJ), three South African universities partnered to collaborate on the pilot phase of a research project focused on understanding whether the Arts could enable social cohesion, as the 2012 National Development Plan (2030) had promoted. All…

Black Radicalism believes in the centrality of racism to Western imperialism and a Diasporic commitment to the liberation of Africa; existing in distinction to Black Nationalism, Marxism and Critical Race Theory. A Black radical critique of schooling is presented and the mischaracterizations of Black Radicalism as segregationist and separatist are…

Discusses the Black struggle for equality, particularly in the post-World War II period, its influence on other American minorities, and its potential impact in international affairs. (DM)

This biography for younger readers describes the life of A. Philip Randolph, the civil rights activist who organized the labor union for Pullman car porters, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The book presents an overview of the civil rights movement in the United States while documenting the part Randolph played as advocate for African…

When students in a New Jersey public middle school decided to learn about their community's history of desegregation through a unique language arts and social studies project, no one imagined how powerful the experience would be for everyone involved. In addition to researching newspaper articles and historical documents, the students conducted…

Provides a tribute to the legacy of Thurgood Marshall through an examination of Marshall's key role in the history of desegregation. It focuses on his position as lead counsel for the NAACP assigned to argue Brown v Board of Education before the Supreme Court and his subsequent influence as a member of the Court. (GR)

Analyzes Thurgood Marshall's role as a critical jurist, especially in light of recent criticism directed at Brown v Board of Education. It discusses the separate-but-equal doctrine of Plessy v Ferguson and Marshall's underlying strategy that such a doctrine was harmful to black children. It concludes with the author's interpretation of Marshall's…

Reviews the Henry Louis Gates Jr. memoir, "Colored People," and Julius Lester's novel of the civil rights movement, "And All Our Wounds Forgiven." Discovers a number of salient points concerning the black experience of integration in both books. Considers some of the interesting questions raised and their possible use in class…