When the Rainbow Melts, Celebrate the Thoughts that Tried to Find Out Why

Panel discussion and book launch of the three STIAS volumes: Persistence of Race (2020) Race in Education (2019) The Effects of Race (2018) Twenty-six years since the dawn of democracy and race is still a talking point in parts of South African society. What happened to the ‘Rainbow Nation’? Why is a country with a Constitution hailed as a beacon of human rights in the world riddled with interracial conflict and protests against remnants of a painful past? The term ‘Rainbow Nation’ became synonymous with South Africa after 1994 when Archbishop Desmond Tutu first used it to symbolise hope for interracial unity among a diverse South African population. Former President Nelson Mandela referred to this new South Africa as a ‘rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world’. But how can there be peace if race, racialism, and racism are still “normal” and “everyday”? Where is humanity to be found in a racialised society? The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) invites members of the public to the Effects of Race Project panel discussion and launch of the book Persistence of Race. This is the third and final set of essays looking at biological and social understandings of race. The two previous books in the project, Race in Education and The Effects of Race were published in 2019 and 2018, respectively. The event marks the culmination of the Effects of Race Project which falls under the STIAS long-term project theme, Being Human Today. STIAS fellow, human rights lawyer and theologian, Barney Pityana will lead the discussion and book launch ceremony. On the panel will be STIAS Fellows and members of the Effects of Race Project group Njabulo Ndebele (SA), Crain Soudien (SA), Gerhard Mare (SA), George Chaplin (USA), Nina Jablonski (USA) and Gӧran Therborn (UK and Sweden). A cocktail reception follows the discussion. To RSVP, send an email to stias@sun.ac.za before Friday, 28 February 2020 or call Nel-Mari Loock at 021 808 2652 For media inquiries, email noloyisom@sun.ac.za or call Noloyiso Mtembu at 082 389 3370     [gallery size="medium" ids="25209,24983,20828"]