Middle School
Middle school homerooms are named after important Quakers. Some are well known historical figures like Bayard Rustin and Alice Paul, but only one homeroom namesake is a living figure. This week, Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge, a Quaker and a social justice activist from South Africa for whom Madlala House is named, co-presented the First Monday Lecture in celebration of Black History Month at Pendle Hill, a Quaker conference center in Pennsylvania. Candace Scala, Head Teacher in Madlala, had the privilege of (virtually) attending this lecture, “The Exponential Impact of Historical and Ongoing Injustice: A Call To Action for Quakers.”
Candace said that the lecture was a wonderful opportunity to listen to Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge speak about colonization in Africa and its devastating impact on indigenous cultures. She also offered an urgent call to action for reparatory and retrospective justice.
She spoke about Quaker involvement in the colonization of Africa from 1692 to 1994, but also acknowledged the role of Quakers today, in collaboration with The Black Quaker Project, in working work toward repairing harm, achieving justice, and recognizing equality.
Coming up for the 7th grade Power of Perspective class will be a focus on the Quaker values of integrity and equality. Students will listen to various personal narratives that exemplify the importance of integrity and equality, including a personal account from Nozizwe-Madlala Rutlegde about achieving justice, before creating their own personal narratives centered on integrity and equality.
About Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge
Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge was one of few women at the negotiations for South Africa’s transition from apartheid. She then worked as Managing Secretary of the Transitional Executive Council’s Sub council on the Status of Women. In 1994 Nozizwe was on the African National Congress proportional representation party list to Parliament in South Africa’s first non-racial, democratic election, which installed Nelson Mandela as the country’s first black president. From 1999 to 2004 she served as a Deputy Minister of Defence, a Quaker and the first woman to serve in this role. She also served as Deputy Minister of Health from 2004 – 2007. In 2008 she was elected Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. In 2009, she left Parliament and cofounded Embrace Dignity with her husband, Jeremy Routledge.
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