Watching the funeral of Jesse Jackson was a sobering reminder that some of the world’s greatest freedom fighters never stopped caring about SA even after the global spotlight faded.
For many of us who grew up in the shadow of apartheid’s collapse, Jackson’s life forces us to confront an uncomfortable truth: political freedom arrived, but economic justice remains painfully out of reach.
Jackson was not merely an American civil rights leader observing our Struggle from afar. He was among those who carried SA in their conscience long after the television cameras and international headlines had moved on.
When sanctions campaigns, boycotts, and global pressure helped weaken the apartheid regime, figures like Jackson continued to remind the world that freedom meant more than a flag and an anthem. It meant dignity, opportunity, and equality.
Yet as I watched his funeral, I could not help but reflect on the reality that millions remain trapped in informal settlements and unemployed while inequality continues to define the lived reality of SA’s majority. - Thulani Dasa
