{"id":32308,"date":"2021-03-16T11:23:28","date_gmt":"2021-03-16T09:23:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uct.ac.za\/memory\/?p=32308"},"modified":"2021-03-19T10:15:46","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T08:15:46","slug":"exploring-the-life-of-david-russell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uct.ac.za\/memory\/2021\/03\/exploring-the-life-of-david-russell\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the life of David Russell"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Deidre Goslett is an archival officer in Special Collections and co-chair of UCT Libraries’ Transformation Committee.<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commemorating Human Rights Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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On 21 March South Africa commemorates the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, when 180 unarmed protestors were injured and 69 were killed by the police in Sharpeville outside Vereeniging. \n\nTaken on 21 March 1992, the image to left shows Joyce Mohlatsane's little daughter comforting her grieving mother, while praying by the grave of her father, a member of the Pan African Congress killed in the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. \n\nPhotograph by Louise Gubb. \nUCT Libraries Special Collections<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
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Human Rights Day has become ingrained in the minds of South Africans as a day to remember and commemorate the Sharpeville Massacre, as well as the countless sacrifices made by those ordinary South Africans who fought for the democratic freedom of this country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introducing Reverend David Russell<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Reverend David Russell is such an individual – a man – an Anglican priest – who believed in selfless love and compassion for humanity, and fought for the rights of the oppressed throughout his life until his passing in 2014. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read more about the David Russell Collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Born in 1938 to \u00a0Hamilton and Kathleen \u201cMolly\u201d (nee Gibson) Russell, David was raised in the Anglican church and chose to minister to the people in Ciskei and other black communities. He was ordained as the new bishop of the Anglican diocese of Grahamstown on 31 May 1987. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
His inaugural sermon reveals his critique about Christian rhetoric without action: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTo fancy we can love our neighbour without concern for the laws and structures of society which debase and dehumanise is to reveal an extraordinary and often culpable insensitivity.\u201d<\/em>[i]<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Taking action <\/h4>\n\n\n\n
In April 1972, David Russell embarked on a six-month diet plan of living on R5 a month to support the plight of the community of Dimbaza. He wanted to find out for himself what it felt like to live on R5 a month. While on this diet he appealed to the government that the money given to the community was not enough to sustain them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n