The wrong side of history

[200 Young]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] September 09 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, On her first day of school on November 14 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges was greeted by angry white protesters spitting at her, calling her racist slurs and threatening her life. Her crime, which required being guarded by US marshals, was being the first black child to desegregate the all-white William Frantz Elementary School in Louisiana during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis. Given the image above, it is sometimes confusing for us to put historical events into context without colourised images. For a large majority of us, all the black-and-white photographs and films we ever see are nearly exclusively from a past that preceded our memories of our own lives. The connection is endlessly reinforced: we see black and white, we see something not now, not in my lifetime. And this further reinforces the idea that we are past the ugly scenes in our history, that we know better and those things don't reflect who we are now. But that's far from the truth. Take, for instance, Lester Kiewit's report on [Polish white supremacists' growing love affair with Chris Hani's killer]( Janusz Walus. Together with Clive Derby-Lewis, Walus planned and carried out Hani's murder outside his Boksburg home in 1993. The killing threatened to send South Africa down a spiral of possible civil war only 10 months before the country's first democratic elections in 1994. In a recent football match on August 28 in Warsaw between Lechia and Rakow Czestochowa, a banner with the image of Walus could be seen hanging behind the home team's goalposts. Since then, the increasing presence of Walus's image and name, particularly at local football games, has become part of a growing right-wing call for his release on parole in South Africa and his return to Poland. 1994 is in the past, but it isn't long ago. Those who believe that any "ism" or "phobia" will die out with older generations are labouring under a mistaken assumption. Yesterday, Bridges turned 66. The people starting Walus fan clubs and throwing up Nazi salutes aren't ensconsed in retirement homes. We are not past it, no matter the ever-present refrain to "move on." When we look back on those images of Bridges or Walus, there is no question about who stands on the right side of history in their respective lives. Incidentally, late last night, we received news that [Caster Semenya's appeal to a Swiss tribunal has been struck down](. The ruling is the latest disappointment in the gold medallist's two-year legal fight against differences in sex development discrimination. "I am very disappointed by this ruling, but refuse to let World Athletics drug me or stop me from being who I am," Semenya responded confidently. "Excluding female athletes or endangering our health solely because of our natural abilities puts World Athletics on the wrong side of history." We have little doubt that decades from now that is precisely how we will remember those who have stifled one of the greatest athletes of her generation. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Tomorrow, the M&G's 200 Young South Africans list for 2020 will be revealed at 7pm. [Sign up to get front-row access]( to the event hosted by our Athandiwe Saba and eNCA's Thembekile Mrototo. To get a glimpse of the calibre of those who made the cut, [check out the 2019 list](. Yours in solidarity, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( You are receiving this email on {EMAIL} because 1.) You're a member of "Mail & Guardian" or 2.) previously subscribed [M&G logo] 25 Owl St, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg, 2092 Want to be removed? No problem! [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Email support: help@media-connect.co.za - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -