| Middleburgh Student Press "The Real Voice of the Students" |
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| Thursday, March 21, 2002 |
| Contact Information If you have questions, comments, corrections, tips, suggestions for stories, or letters to the editor, please contact the Middleburgh Student Press through one of the means below. U.S.Mail- The Middleburgh Student Press Robert Kerley, Editor C/O Mr. Jonathan Bright Middleburgh High School Main Street, P.O. Box 400 Middleburgh, N.Y. 12122 E-Mail- mcsnewsman@yahoo.com Personal Contact- Talk to Robert Kerley |
| As I sat along side twenty thousand other young men and women a tear found it's way to my eye as I listened to Archbishop Desmond Tutu describe and detail the atrocities and evils of the past apartheid in South Africa. I had been a delegate to the National Lutheran Youth Convention two years ago in St. Louis where this humanitarian spoke. I was reminded of his message again as I sat in the MCS auditorium on March 18, 2002. During Peace Train's concert the music, and the words of Sharon Katz, echoed equality, egalitarianism, and harmony. Apartheid was a formerly followed policy of racial segregation in South Africa. The word apartheid comes from an Afrikaans word meaning "separateness ". There was a strict racial division between the governing white minority population and the nonwhite majority population. As part of their campaign in the 1948 elections the National Party introduced apartheid. When the National Party won victory apartheid became the governing political policy for South Africa, and it lasted until the early 1990s. Many people still living in that country believes that although there is no longer a legal basis for apartheid, the social, economic, and political inequalities between white and black South Africans still exist. It is the mission of Peace Train and their following to end this discrimination and replace it with a new sense of brotherhood between all peoples. They have toured the world and they are releasing a new album this upcoming June in the United States. This CD will feature tracks that have been recorded in America, South Africa, and Ghana, with over seventy musicians. Its name is IMBIZO. The music shared with the students of MCS and its theme of peace could not help but touch people's hearts. Many teachers and students that commented on this assembly thought that it was a great success. Also, it was very beneficial to acquaint people with and remind them of the story of Nelson Mandela and others like him. We must never forget our history. Instead we must learn from it and become active in bettering humankind. As Archbishop Tutu once said, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor". |
| By Peter DeBartolo |
| MCS welcomes Sharon Katz and "The Peace Train" |
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| Photo courtesy of sharonkatz.com |