OPINION | Why Sobukwe’s legacy must live on through our heritage sites

A full 100 years after he was born, with last year marking the centenary of Dr Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe’s birth, SA has to once again reckon with its past and reimagine its future.

Sobukwe’s towering intellect, moral clarity and unrelenting pursuit of African self-determination shaped a generation and challenged the conscience of a nation gripped by apartheid.

Yet, decades later, how many of our youth truly understand his vision — or have access to the spaces where such memory lives?

As we reflect on Sobukwe’s life, it becomes increasingly clear that heritage institutions such as Freedom Park must not only honour our heroes but also serve as living classrooms where history breathes, questions are provoked and identity is forged.

This is not about nostalgia. It is about building resilient societies grounded in memory and cultivating a youth that draws wisdom from the past to shape a just future.

Born in Graaff-Reinet on December 5 1924, Sobukwe’s life was one of immense courage and conviction.

A teacher, lawyer and founder of the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), he championed a vision of nonracialism that placed African dignity at the centre of national liberation.

Sobukwe famously led the anti-pass campaign in 1960, a mass mobilisation that sparked the tragic Sharpeville massacre — an event that not only exposed the brutality of apartheid to the world but also landed Sobukwe in indefinite detention, in a cell designed to silence him. His ideas, however, remain too urgent to be buried in textbooks or academic archives.

His belief in “one race, the human race” challenges a world still scarred by systemic racism and economic injustice. His vision of leadership — “complete subjugation of self, honesty and integrity... and above all, a consuming love for one’s people” — offers a moral compass in an era where public trust in leadership is waning.

This is precisely where heritage sites like Freedom Park step in — not just to preserve, but to provoke, educate and inspire. Established to honour those who sacrificed for freedom and humanity, Freedom Park is more than a monument. It is a national treasure that curates collective memory while making it relevant to new generations.

The Robert Sobukwe exhibition on display from April 1 to June 30 at Freedom Park is a case in point. Through artefacts, letters, personal belongings and digital storytelling, the exhibition invites visitors into the intellectual and emotional world of Sobukwe.

In partnership with the Robert Sobukwe Trust and the Robben Island Museum, the exhibition aims to reintroduce Sobukwe — not as a distant icon, but as a man whose ideals can still shape contemporary struggles for justice, identity and unity. Freedom Park’s Pan African archives, educational outreach programmes and documentary screenings further extend this legacy.

Through dialogues, school visits and public storytelling, the park ensures that Sobukwe’s voice reaches classrooms, communities and households across SA.

For many young South Africans, the struggle for freedom is something they learn about in theory — but rarely connect with in practice. Heritage institutions must break down those barriers of distance, jargon and exclusivity.

At Freedom Park, we prioritise accessibility: hosting interactive exhibitions, translating content into local languages and using multimedia to bring stories to life.

Our outreach work doesn’t end at our gates. In collaboration with schools and community centres, we take storytelling into townships, rural areas and libraries, ensuring that young people in under-resourced communities experience the richness of SA history — not as spectators, but as participants.

In an age where misinformation and historical erasure are increasingly common, this work is more vital than ever. If we do not give our youth accurate, inspiring and context-rich versions of our history, others will fill the void — with revisionism, cynicism or silence.

Heritage is not only about education — it is also about healing. By returning to the words and values of leaders like Sobukwe, we are reminded of the unfinished business of democracy: land redistribution, economic equity and restoring dignity to the marginalised.

When young people engage with these histories, they are not only learning — they are dreaming, questioning, and demanding better. As we look ahead to the centenary celebration in Graaff-Reinet and beyond, we invite the nation — especially its youth — to return to the source.

To walk the streets Sobukwe once walked. To engage in dialogues he would have welcomed. And to recognise that the struggle for human dignity is not over.

Commemorating Sobukwe is not just about the past. It’s about shaping the present and reimagining the future. Institutions like Freedom Park serve as conduits through which memory flows into action, and where history becomes a powerful engine for nation-building.

If we want a South Africa that lives up to the dreams of its founding giants, we must invest in our heritage infrastructure. We must support platforms that preserve, amplify and democratise history. And we must ensure that the youth — our future leaders — have the tools, spaces and stories to guide them.

Sobukwe lit a flame of possibility. Let us not allow that flame to flicker out. Let us protect it, pass it on and let it illuminate our path towards the just society he envisioned.

• Mufamadi is CEO of Freedom Park Heritage Site and Museum