Nations walk similar paths, Pityana observes

Nations
walk similar paths, Pityana observes

BY DANA BENSON
Special to the Rice News

In his Jan. 20
talk at Rice University, South African human rights leader
Nyameko Barney Pityana commemorated Martin Luther King Jr.’s
contributions to American society. But he reminded the audience
that King was a world figure as well.

On the anniversary
of King’s birth, Pityana said, “We record his
gigantic contribution as a leader of the movement dedicated
to the transformation of American society. He became the
conscience of a nation, a moral force that pulled this nation
back to its founding values.

“But I’m
here today because Dr. King was not just an American. He
was a world figure. He awakened Americans to their world
responsibilities,” Pityana said, noting that King made
Americans more aware not just of the struggle for civil
rights in the United States, but also of the liberation
struggles and movement in Africa.

Pityana’s
speech, titled “Liberation, Civil Rights and Democracy:
The United States and South Africa 2004,” was the Martin
Luther King Jr. Lecture, which is held annually as part
of Rice’s President’s Lecture Series.

Pityana, who
was the first chairman of the South African Human Rights
Commission, commented that King’s march to Washington
and his “I Have a Dream” speech invoke memories
of some of the great moments in South African history, most
notably when Nelson Mandela was freed from prison.

Mandela was imprisoned
for his antiapartheid efforts for nearly three decades before
being released in 1990. In 1991, he was elected president
of the African National Council.

“Nelson
Mandela personified the cry for freedom that generations
of South Africans had prayed for and made sacrifices for,”
Pityana said.

Mandela and King
shared a common quality: Leadership that drives the aspirations
of common people. Both men founded their movements with
statements of certain ideals and values, and that is what
made their efforts sustainable, said Pityana, who is principal
and vice chancellor at the University of South Africa.

King, for example,
looked to scriptures and to the Unites States Constitution
in leading the civil rights movement, and he held Americans
accountable to those ideals. The antiapartheid movement
in South Africa, meanwhile, was started by intellectuals
such as Mandela who were often American-trained and turned
to American churches and the constitution for guidance.

Pityana called
the 40 years since the passage of the United States’
civil rights legislation and the 10 years of freedom for
blacks in South Africa the “realization of the dreams
of our leaders and our people.”

But Pityana noted
that “Dr. King called attention to the limits of the
1964 Civil Rights Act and said that only when people act
will laws have meaning.” Subsequently, the voting act
was passed in 1965.

Problems still
remain in the United States, however, Pityana said. In his
time, King predicted that within 25 years the United States
would have a black president, but Pityana commented that
that is still a long way from happening, and blacks still
suffer discrimination. And, he added, America is a “nightmare”
for the poor of all races. Additionally, the U.S. court
system is still being confronted by affirmative action legislation,
especially as it pertains to university admissions.

In the 10 years
since apartheid collapsed in South Africa, there has been
a renewal of African unity and the quality of life has improved
greatly, Pityana said. South Africans have confidence that
the economy is stable and inflation is down, he added. Yet,
unemployment remains and there is a gap between the rich
and the poor.

Violent crime
also is an issue in South Africa, and Pityana explained
that “violence is a response to the despair and hopelessness
that have not yet been reclaimed by many people.”

The government
is dealing with the issues, he said, through such measures
as an increased focus on crime prevention. And though Pityana
said that HIV/AIDS is a problem that the government has
not dealt with well enough, he said there are new initiatives
for broader treatment and distribution of condoms.

In closing, Pityana
said that “liberation is a process not an event.”

“Revolutions
succeed best when moral legitimacy resides,” he said.
“This nation and South Africa must never tire of rediscovering
their selves and their moral fiber.”