Read the background to the Johannesburg City Library closure here.
We joined the protest in the City Centre to add our voice to the call by Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, and other civil society organisations to reopen the city library, which has been closed since 2021. The crowd that gathered on Saturday was a glorious reflection of the people of this city, young and elderly, of every hue, and united by a shared love of books, reading and learning, and the desire to live in a welcoming city.
In that library sit more than 1.5 million books, computer facilities, free Wi-Fi, and a newspaper reading room. Around the building live tens of thousands of inner-city residents with little or no recreational facilities, and poor or no access to dignity.
On the day, speakers Rethabile Ratsomo and Yunus Chamda from the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation; author Professor Achille Mbembe; and David Fleminger and Flo Bird from Johannesburg Heritage Foundation addressed the crowd that gathered in the shadow of Lawrence Lemoana's aptly named sculpture Democracy is Dialogue.
The event also saw the launch of a “Petition in a Book” collection, whereby Joburg writers have been asked to add a signed copy of their books to the campaign. They will be handed over to the library once it reopens.
We all have a role to play in joining the call for a more equitable society. The right to read is something for which we should not have to fight. Sign the petition to reopen the Johannesburg City Library on the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation website which will be online until Sun, May 26. We’ll keep you updated on what's next.
Joburg Photowalker Mark Straw was there on the day to capture some of the action and shared his pictures with us.
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