HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY - THE STATE OF HISTORY: LILIESLEAF Guests: Sekibakiba Lekgoathi, Department of History, University of the Witwatersrand; Nicholas Wolpe, CEO, Liliesleaf Museum; and Mbongeni Ngema, Composer and Playwright Host: Steven Roy Goodman Original Air Date: 12 September 2017 Liliesleaf Farm, also known simply as Liliesleaf, is located in northern Johannesburg, which was used as a safe house for African National Congress (ANC) activists during the apartheid years. In 1963, the South African police raided the farm, arresting more than a dozen ANC leaders and activists, who were then tried and prosecuted during the Rivonia Trial. This segment of Higher Education Today is about history and the role of history in contemporary society. Sekibakiba says we need history to understand the present situations. History is about being able to grapple with the present socio-dynamic issues of the day. Nicholas Wolpe believes that the Freedom Charter is one of the most important documents in our history. Both guests agree that the history and documentation of the liberation struggle, including passive resistance to the attempts of an armed struggle, is not very well documented due to South Africa’s focus on being a “rainbow nation” with little understanding of the different colours that struggled, sacrificed and lost lives to help build that nation. Legendary South African playwright and composer, Mbongeni Ngema, elaborates on the power the film Sarafina had on the world and helped bring pressure on the apartheid government while shedding light as to what was really happening on the ground in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. He and jazz musician, Hugh Masekela co-wrote the title track of Sarafina’s Freedom is Coming Tomorrow just a few years before Nelson Mandela was released from prison, claiming he really believed it would come sooner than later. He believes history helps us remember to never repeat atrocities of the past.