Judge Edwin Cameron addressed learners at St John’s College at the inaugural Hugh Lewin Memorial Human Rights Lecture recently.
Judge Cameron is a recently retired Constitutional Court judge and newly appointed chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch. He has been recognised for his brilliance, commitment to human rights, social justice and HIV-Aids activism, receiving numerous awards from around the world for his contribution to international jurisprudence and the protection of human rights.
Judge Cameron boasts a remarkable story of having overcome the difficulty of being raised in an orphanage and other youthful hardships which he described as his first encounters with the law, which helped propel and inspire him to choose his career path.
In his address to the St John’s community and friends and family of Lewin, Cameron wove the deeds that characterised Lewin’s life as a fighter for social justice with his own into a call for young people of the college to not become apathetic when they are aware of issues of social justice. He articulated that the need to fight for justice is often born from our own experience. He said the duty falls on us to investigate how to effect change in order to fight for justice for all.
Lewin was a learner at St John’s College from 1948 to 1957, where he was a distinguished learner who developed an awareness of the wrongs of apartheid. Lewin later became involved in student politics and was arrested and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
The Hugh Lewin Memorial Rights Lecture will become an annual event at the College to recognise the significant contribution Lewin made to society.
Related articles:
Old Johannians and anti-apartheid stalwart Hugh Lewin remembered
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/212919/st-johns-college-honours-one-of-their-greats/
