Young writers, poets and artists take up the mantle of Kathrada’s struggle for justice

In the turbulent landscape of 2024–2025, issues of racism and discrimination have once again surged to the surface of public consciousness, reminding us that South Africa’s journey toward a truly nonracial, equal society is far from complete.

Over the past year, deeply unsettling incidents, from racist slurs directed at school learners to continued inequities in workplace hiring practices and the violent targeting of foreign nationals in some communities, have forced our nation to reckon with the stubborn roots of discrimination that persist across generations.

South Africa’s Constitution commits us to building a society founded on dignity, equality and freedom for all. And yet, three decades after apartheid’s fall, structural racism and inequalities continue to define who gets to belong, whose voice matters, and who is afforded dignity in everyday life.

The events of this past year, including renewed calls for justice from marginalised groups, protests around unequal education infrastructure, and backlash against anti-racist and/or affirmative action policies, demonstrate that racism is not only personal or interpersonal, but deeply systemic.

In a world still shaped by the deep wounds of the past, where racism, inequalities and discrimination continue to divide communities, exclude voices and rob individuals of their dignity, it is our responsibility not only to confront these injustices, but to equip and amplify the voices of those who dare to imagine something different.

In this context, the National Essay Writing Competition Against Racism offers a powerful platform for young people to think critically, write courageously and speak authentically about their experiences, hopes and visions for justice.

In its eighth year, the competition has grown beyond essays to include poetry and visual art, echoing Ahmed Kathrada’s own belief that activism must take many forms and find expression in multiple voices. Over the past three years, through the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation’s anti-racism assemblies, debates, civic education workshops and this very competition, the foundation’s Anti-Racism Programme has reached more than 40,000 learners.

And yet, every essay we read reminds us that the work is far from over. Many young people still grapple with identity-based bullying, discrimination based on skin tone and a persistent silence around the racial inequalities that continue to shape their world.

But despite these challenges, young people write and draw, and in doing so, they teach us how to listen again.

These entries are conversations that some have never been able to have at home. They are protests that some have whispered silently in classrooms. They are dreams written down by young people who believe that South Africa can and must become better.

And they remind us, those of us who work in civil society, who serve in public institutions, and who walk in the footsteps of our democracy’s giants, that young people are not merely the leaders of tomorrow, but the conscience of today.

The 2024 publication of the National Essay Writing Competition Against Racism is launched against the backdrop of rising global intolerance, where anti-immigrant sentiments, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, anti-Blackness, and other forms of prejudice continue to rise.

Yet, as we have seen in the writings and artworks submitted this year, there is also deep resilience, bold reimaginings of belonging, and a refusal to accept racism as the norm.

The range of voices deeply moved the Foundation — the diversity of thought and the personal truths that each writer entrusted us with.

Some essays interrogated the legacies of apartheid and how they manifest in present-day inequalities. Others explored racism in popular culture, in language and in the subtle interactions of everyday life.

All of them demanded that we stop looking away.

This generation is not merely inheriting the legacies of the past; they are actively reshaping the present and demanding better from our future.

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation continues to be inspired by the strength, depth and integrity of the young people who submit their work. Whether grappling with the remnants of apartheid in their schools and communities, challenging exclusionary practices, or daring to speak out against racism they face daily, these young writers, poets and artists are taking up the mantle of Kathrada’s lifelong struggle for justice.

To them, and to all those who refuse to stay silent in the face of inequality: your voices matter. May the publication of the 2024 winners be a testament to your courage and a call to all of us, young and old, to act with principle, build solidarity, and envision a South Africa where racism, in all its forms, finds no refuge.

Let it not only be a collection of exceptional talent, but a record of what it means to be young, black, brown, queer, immigrant, or marginalised in a country still wrestling with its conscience.

And may these pages plant the seeds of change for a society rooted in equity, compassion and true justice. DM

Neeshan Balton is executive director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation.