#SowetanKnowYourPlace
Sowetan's Know Your Place campaign: a message from the editor
We are committed to telling your story, authentically and with integrity
Here’s to those who flipped the script when they were told to know their place; the ones who showed that it’s possible to take up spaces and own them. #SowetanKnowYourPlace
Dear Reader,
It is no secret that the media industry globally has suffered tremendous pressures, economic and otherwise, in recent years.
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a point of no return for many publications, including those here in SA.
Yet despite this challenging landscape, we believe unequivocally that the craft of journalism is here to stay. It is an important pillar of our democracy and a crucial instrument to build an informed society.
This is why we have launched a campaign that serves as our commitment to continue to tell your story, authentically, with integrity and even greater zeal.
For almost 40 years, Sowetan has unapologetically reflected your life, earnestly and in all its shades.
We have told your story of trial and triumph.
With you, we have stared down political, economic and social systems that set boundaries for you, systems that told you what you can and cannot do.
Our platforms went beyond informing you but magnified your voice as you raised your fists, demanding the respect you deserved and a shot at opportunities to excel.
We cheered with you when you broke through limitations, occupied spaces that were never meant for you, and flipped the narrative to affirm your true identity.
The #KnowYourPlace movement is precisely that – it is recognition that throughout history, you have been told to know your place, to dream only as far as others let you, to aim only as high as their ceilings permitted.
But you didn’t.
You knew your dreams were much bigger, your resolve much deeper and your talents much greater than many imagined.
You knew your place was wherever you decided it ought to be.
This is why we celebrate you for the strides you make to flip the script in your spaces and to push back against barriers designed to confine you.
This campaign is recognition of the pioneers who came before us, and a commitment to continue to give you the knowledge you need to reach new frontiers of possibilities.
Through these difficult times, we urge you to always know your place, to seek it, to own it.
Sincerely,
Nwabisa Makunga
Editor, Sowetan