Ruben Richards Foundation and Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town will host a co-book launch and critical discourse on History, Race and Identity.

The Ruben Richards Foundation in partnership with Centre for African Studies, University of Cape Town (UCT), will co-launch Bastaards or Humans (Volume 1 & 2) written by Ruben Richards, and a work entitled Whose History Counts , edited by Dr. June Bam, Prof. Lungisile Ntsebeza, Allan Zinn (Vice-Chancellor of Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University). Volume 1 of Bastaards or Humans is entitled “The unspoken heritage of coloured people”. Volume 2 is entitled “500 years of intimacy between South Africa and Europe”.

Dr Ruben Richards, a former fitter and turner tradesman and UCT PhD graduate, will be in conversation with Prof. Lungisile Ntsebeza, Allan Zinn and Dr June Bam-Hutchison, who also wrote the foreword to Bastaards or Humans (Volume 2).
The co-launch of the book will be at the Centre for African Studies at University of Cape Town (UCT), in the Gallery Hall in the Harry Oppenheimer building, at 14:30. Various books will be available for sale including other works written by Dr Richards. Authors will be on hand to sign copies and conduct interviews. The event is open to the public at no cost.

Bastaards or Humans attempts to undo centuries of indoctrination, misinformation, stereotyping and abuse about the identity and heritage of a people with an ancestry linked to the oldest form of human civilisation namely, the Khoi/Khoe and San (commonly referred to as Khoisan).

The two Volumes Bastaards or Humans re-centers the historical narrative by paying homage to indigeneity. “These are narratives which embed the experiences of indigenous people but reinterpreted and stripped of their prejudice and presented in a context where indigenous people are co-creators of history”, said Dr Ruben Richards. Debbie Schäfer, MEC of Education, Western Cape, said “Our history curriculum has not been inclusive enough of our diverse heritage. It is important that we learn the whole history of our country so we can heal and move forward. The book goes a long way in doing this, and I hope that this book will make a positive contribution to schools across the Western Cape. We are supporting the integration of the works into the history curriculum.”

This book should not be labeled as a history book. To pigeon-hole/narrow it down like that, would be to do the book a disservice. It can be used in the history classroom and in a number of other subjects – Economics, Business Studies, Accounting, Social Studies, etc. or simply as a good read – to understand our country, its past and where it is going,” said Faseeg Manie, Principal, Lavender Hill High School.

Early last-year, Dr Ruben Richards, sponsored a copy of his book to the Western Cape Education Department as a resource book for every high school library in the Western Cape. The over 400 copies were handed to the MEC of Education in a ceremony which took place at his former High School (Heathfield).

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Respondents:
Prof Ntsebeza and Dr Ruben Richards
Book launch proceedings
Date: 24 April 2019
Time: 14h00 (Arrival) – 14h30 (Event start)
Venue: Centre for African Studies: Harry Oppenheimer Institute
Building, UCT Upper Campus, Engineering Mall, Rondebosch, Cape Town
Google maps: (https://goo.gl/maps/rCCQKbkEnkzyRzmi8)

For more information and to RSVP please visit our website:
www.bastaardsorhumans.co.za
https:/ https://rrf.org.za/
http://www.africanstudies.uct.ac.za/gallery
https://www.facebook.com/cornerstoneinstitute/

Issued by:
Llewellin RG Jegels
Publicity Officer
082 0999 063
Email: [email protected]

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