South Africa, Soul of Planet Earth with Salim Washington
January 6, 2014
South Africa and the Soul of Planet Earth
Today’s episode of the Ecosocialist Horizons Hour features a special extended discussion on South African politics and music as a revolutionary current for our times. As Nelson Mandela continues to be praised by the forces of the Right and Left across the globe, EHH asks today: what is the true legacy of South Africa for building a revolutionary ecosocialist movement, what is the state of apartheid’s dismantlement, and what does the living tradition of Black Atlantic music mean for modernity and its dicontents?
Joining us in our studio is Dr. Salim Washington, a distinguished specialist on African-American music and accomplished tenor saxophonist. Salim Washington has emigrated to Durban, South Africa, after many years of following the music, culture and history of that nation, starting in 1976 at the time of the Soweto rebellion. Finally arriving as a Fulbright Senior Scholar/Artist in 2009 (would not be an “honorary white” in the 70s, supported the boycott in the 80s, was raising children in the 90s) he experienced the great potential of this country.
Salim has accepted a position in musicology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, but also teaches for the Centre of Jazz and Popular Music. He has led workshops in various townships, including Soweto, Thembisa, KwaMashu, and others, performed in various cities, including Grahamstown, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Irini, and leads a big band built primarily of orphaned youth at the Durban Music Centre. Salim will also be participating in the 8th Pan African Congress to be held in Johannesburg in January 2014.
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