Contrary to the preaching of the governing crowd of the past 28 years, it was actually the mass-based activism of the oppressed black African majority that brought apartheid to its knees.
At the very height of the fight against racial oppression, the people understood, of course to the exclusion of their political organisation, that no one but themselves could bring the liberation they so desired.
The racist state was by the end of the 1980s rendered largely impotent and could get their way through violence which brought the sins of the regime under the collective gaze of the rest of the world. The beast was cornered and had to finally surrender in the end.
But at the dawn of democracy, perhaps caught in the euphoria of victory again seemingly insurmountable odds or maybe fatigued, the activism at almost every level of the people's lives was cast aside and almost everything left in the not-so-capable hands of those in government.
One admirable leg of such activism under apartheid was the involvement of communities in the education of their children and their active participation in the schools in their midst despite the unfavourable conditions. We had unbridled pride in our schools and many were famed even in faraway corners of the land for their roles in building the nation.
Today, township schools are largely a shadow of their former selves as they have been neglected not least of all by communities around them who shipped their children to surbubia for perceived better education. A common refrain is that black parents and the community at large somewhat took the backseat and showed little interest in what became of schools in our areas.
Of course there are many example of black communities doing what's right by their schools. One such example made our front page headline yesterday. Fed-up parents at TM Letlhake Secondary School in Bekkersdal, on the West Rand, took the bull by the horns and sought to physically kick out gangsterism at the school.
They told Sowetan that they have had enough of inaction both by the department of education and the police whenever they reported the hooliganism that was disrupting their children's education at TM Letlhake. They took it upon themselves, drew up a list of the troublemakers and descended on the school to haul the rogues out of class and restore a semblance of order.
We welcome the interest the community has shown in their school, but would caution against the vigilantism involved. All involved, especially those in authority, should harness the positives of the move and help build on the kind of involvement shown by TM Letlhake parents and the community.
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