History was made at a night to be remembered on Saturday 1st February 2020, as communities celebrated the life of Dr Don Mattera. Hundreds of people from all walks of life attended the celebration and the launch of The Don Mattera Legacy Foundation at the Don Mateman Hall in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg.
The ordinary township community hall was transformed into a dazzling setting, reminiscent of the class and style of old Sophiatown as community members from Eldorado Park and surrounding townships, old colleagues, journalists trained by Mattera, heavyweight politicians, poets and musicians all gathered, to pay tribute to the legendary writer, poet and anti-apartheid activist Dr Don Mattera The guest list included high-profile politicians such as former President Kgalema Motlanthe, former speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete and former first lady Zanele Mbeki.
Painting the mission of his foundation, Mattera said, “My heart is wailing for the children of South Africa. We need to take care of them with compassion and I want to warn against the dangers of racial classification”.
Mattera's son Teddy a board member of the Don Mattera Legacy Foundation, reflected broadly on the work of the Foundation, “We will continue to preserve my father's legacy through a number of projects such as a community sports day as well as legacy celebration throughout South Africa, the annual Don Mattera Legacy Lecture and pursuing the vision of his writings and poetry to become an integral part of the education curriculum. This is but a few of the programs that we will expand upon as we build on the momentum of the Foundation”.
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