Unsung Heroes & Heroines of the Liberation Struggle

STATUS: Completed
PROJECT LEADER:Houston, GF (Dr Gregory)
OTHER TEAM MEMBERS: Govender, K (Ms Koshen)
DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE: Developmental, Capable and Ethical State (DCES)
RESEARCH OUTPUTS: Transcripts of interviews with unsung heroes and heroines of the South African liberation struggle, volume 1: report, The liberation struggle and liberation heritage sites in South Africa, Documenting the legacy of the South African liberation struggle: The national liberation heritage route: unsung heroes and heroines of the liberaton struggle project, The national liberation heritage route

Abstract

The areas of research focus are: The identification and development of narratives around liberation heritage sites and the identification and recording of life histories of unsung heroes and heroines of the struggle. The South African National Heritage Council (NHC) identified the development and management of the legacy of the liberation struggle as an important aspect of heritage preservation in the country, and initiated the Liberation Heritage Route (LHR) project as one of the initiatives in this regard. The Liberation Heritage Route is intended to consist of a series of sites that express the key aspects of the South African liberation experience to be submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a World Heritage Site. These sites are linked together by a common historical narrative of the liberation struggle and experience, and consist of historical evidence of events and activities associated with the history of the struggle. The objective is to identify new heritage sites that can be included in the National Liberation Heritage Route; and to develop supporting narratives around some of the already-identified sites and the new proposed sites arising from this research. In addition, during and after the conclusion of the liberation struggle with the first democratic elections in South Africa, there have been a number of significant individual and collective efforts to identify and record the stories of heroes and heroines of the struggle. The project built on this rich tradition of oral history by identifying heroes and heroines of the struggle and conducting Interviews with such individuals. The identification of these heroes and heroines, as well as the recording and preservation of their life histories are significant for a number of reasons, including: honouring the contribution they made; the contribution their life stories can make to the memory of the world; the additional data arising from their life stories that adds to the narrative of the liberation struggle; and the creation of a new database that raises awareness on the African liberation heritage.

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