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Banished to Brandfort in 1977, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela noted that this act, carried out by the apartheid authorities, was intended “to bury me forever.” However, it was her presence that ultimately repositioned the small rural town in the Free State as a centre for black radicalism.
Lat year we published an edition titled “Brandfort: Liberation Capital (1977-86)”, an oral history of the town in the time of Winnie Mandela, through interviews with townspeople, collaborators and companions, re-examining her operation of a clinic, crèche and library in the context of the Black Consciousness Movement’s community programmes; the network of collaboration that facilitated her political work from the Free State and its impact on the broader liberation struggle; the modes of communication and speech-acts she used during her banishment, and more.
And to welcome this publication we invited A semblance, Asher Gamedze’s free-funk collective, to arrange an hour-long suite inspired by the immense body musical and literary work that honoured Winnie’s years in Brandfort, including Sathima Benjamin’s “Winnie Mandela, Beloved Heroine”, Gwendolyn Brooks’s epic poem “Song for Winnie”, Milton Nascimento’s “Lágrimas Do Sul (para Winnie Mandela)”, June Jordan’s “Every Night, Winnie Mandela”, and many more.
The A semblance ensemble performed the piece at the Chimurenga Factory on 24 April 2025.
We listen to the recording of this performance from 7pm tonight. Live on PASS, tune in!
Thursday, 14 May 2026 from 7pm
Live on the Pan African Space Station