Wits University Corner was recently renamed after celebrated South African author Es’kia Mphahlele.
The now-named Es’kia Mphahele Building has always been home to the Wits Centre for Journalism, Wits Centre for Diversity Studies and the Wits Museum, among other aspects. For the institution, this was a fitting tribute to Mphahele who was the school’s first black full professor.
He is said to have spent nearly 70 years of his life in a career that spanned education, journalism, creative writing, and the leadership of institutions for the promotion of literature and the arts.
Before unveiling the golden plaque to guests and members of Mphahele’s family, Wits vice-chancellor and principal Professor Zeblon Vilakazi said that renaming the building serves as a vital physical connection between the Wits Campus and Braamfontein.
“The university recognises the importance of community engagement in forging new knowledge. Es’kia Mphahlele’s work was instrumental in breaking the bounds of traditional knowledge creation and fostering a more inclusive approach to scholarship,” said Vilakazi.
Vilakazi said not to forget that Professor Es’kia Mphahlele was not only a visionary in education but also a leading African writer, ‘whose talents were dedicated to the development of African writing on this continent and its diaspora. His contributions to literature were so remarkable that he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature not once, but twice.”
The Students’ Representative Council’s acting president, Kabelo Phungwayo, said that Es’kia Mphahlele’s struggle for his educational career is an inspiration to most students. “We consider Es’kia as a revolutionary scholar, who inspires our African epistemology of humanism and who is the Dean of African letters. Such a figure, being recognised in this institution, means a lot to the SRC.”
Related Article:
