Remembering the Queen of Soul

Aretha Franklin embodied the genre of soul music PIC: THEECONOMIST.COM
Aretha Franklin embodied the genre of soul music PIC: THEECONOMIST.COM

On the 28th June 1990 a couple of South African students studying in Cleveland, Ohio and I, travelled to Detroit, Michigan to attend what was billed as a ‘Freedom Rally’ to be addressed by the late Nelson Mandela.

At the time, I was on attachment at the Sun Newspapers in Cleveland, but also serving as a fellow at Cleveland State University. The others were students at the local private school, Case Western Reserve University.

Mandela had just been released from prison earlier that year and was on a 12-day national tour of the United States of America to thank the people of that country for supporting sanctions against the South African apartheid regime, but also to raise funds.

Editor's Comment
Inspect the voters' roll!

The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...

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