S2 E2: The Legacy of Charlotte Maxeke – Black women’s lives as a site of creative inspiration
15 Dec 2021
The second episode of Season Two of The Empty Chair is devoted to the Transatlantic legacy of Charlotte Maxeke. Writer and PEN SA board member, Sisonke Msimang is joined by three guests: Athambile Masola, writer, researcher and UCT lecturer; Adanma Mbonu, a recent graduate from Wilberforce University in Ohio, U.S.A. and Buhle Ngaba, South African actor, writer and speaker.
Together they discuss the history of Wilberforce University, where Ma Charlotte attained her degree, and reflect on the ways her life has been recorded and remembered, as well as the legacies of her lesser-known peers.
In this episode we stand in solidarity with the collective case of 12 Eritrean writers who have been imprisoned since 2001. Their names are: Dawit Isaak, Amanuel Asrat, Said Idris ‘Abu Are’, Temesegen Ghebreyesuy, Methanie Haile, Fessehaye ‘Joshua’ Yohannes, Yousif Mohammed Ali, Seyoum Tsehaye, Dawit Habtemichael, Said Abdelkadir, Sahle ‘Wedi-ltay’ Tsefezab and Matheos Habteab.
To learn more about their case, go to https://pen-international.org/campaigns/day-of-the-imprisoned-writer-2021
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