Alex heroes and heroines of June 16 remembered
Young Mashudu Magadani headlines the 1976 June 18 memorial at the Farmer's Market Yethu in Alexandra.
The Farmers Market Yethu, an NPO that seeks to foster a culture of food self-sufficiency in Alexandra and other township communities, recently held what organisers hailed as a historic storytelling event at the market for the heroes and heroines of the June 18, 1976, Youth Uprising in Alex.
Top of the storytelling list was that of Florence Magadani, who was shot and killed by the apartheid police on 12th Avenue, and her heroics during the fight against the apartheid regime and its policies of racial segregation.
The heroics of Magadani were narrated by her 28-year-old granddaughter, Mashudu Magadani, who has dreams of producing a movie on the life and times of her granny and the contribution she made to the struggle against apartheid.
Host of the storytelling, which is an element of the market, Alex arts activist Refilwe ‘Fifi’ Pieterse said storytelling was designed to ensure that ‘we don’t forget where we come from because if we know where we come from, we will know where we going’.
“I would like to appeal to those with the financial muscle to come to the rescue of Mashudu with her dream of telling the story of her granny. This is especially directed to the corporate world and film houses and other theatre organisations to consider helping out,” Pieterse told Alex News.
Pieterse said the Magadani family has been left with a wound since the killing in 1976 and the storytelling at the market has, to a certain extent, dressed the wound through open discussions involving both young and old from the community.
“This day was about Mashudu’s dream as she has been working on her grandmother’s story for years and needs support with funding to create a film about the events of June 18, 1976 in Alexandra.
“The dream is not only for Mashudu and her family but also for the many family members of the victims that form the Class of 1976 in Alexandra,” Pieterse said.
Attendees of the storytelling were treated to music from the remarkable voice of the young opera singer Joey De Tenor while a student of 1976 and survivor Mbulelo Vena gave closing remarks in which he emphasised the importance of continuous remembrance of this event and reaching out to families and students of 1976.
More stories of Alex can be expected at least every week at the Farmer’s Market, Pieterse said.
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