The Human Bridge Movement
Bridging racial divides and building social cohesion in South Africa
South Africa is today the country which I and so many others sacrificed for. We have a Constitution that seeks to support freedom and democracy. What we don’t have yet, however, is the society for which so many paid the ultimate price.
Judge Albie Sachs
About The Human Bridge
The Human Bridge aims to create and encourage racial healing activities across the nation and to reverse the psychological and economic damage which has been created by a long history of systemic racism.
We aim to replace the belief system of the “Hierarchy of Human Value”, which valued one group over the others and fuelled racism, with a Human Bridge that values all people equally, builds trust and fosters social cohesion.
Take a stand for racial healing—get involved today and help create a more equitable South Africa.
Did you know?
South Africa is the most unequal country in the world according to the United Nations Development Programme. It is also ranked 61st out of 64 countries in competitiveness (The World Competitive Year Book 2023). It stands to reason that our poor competitiveness is a result of our unequal status.
In basic terms, the number of people in South Africa who are earning less than R40 per day was forecast to amount to 12.95m in 2023. The top 10% of earners hold at least 75% of the country’s wealth.
Unless we create a more equitable playing field, the enormous income gap will, at best, stay the same and at worst, widen even further. This will require a significant transformation of the mindsets of the South African people.
Read’ The Human Bridge’ book to understand what you can do as an individual to contribute to racial healing and a more just and equal society.
The People Behind the Movement
Racial healing is essential for achieving racial equity and involves transforming mindsets, embracing multiple truths, acknowledging past wrongs and present consequences, repairing the psychological damage caused by racism, and building relationships across a divided society.
Without racial healing and trust-building, changes in policies or practices are not sustainable. Our HBM framework emphasizes the importance of community and business collaboration as the foundation for implementing change.
Ian Fuhr
Nyeleti Magadze
South Africa has moved beyond apartheid but not beyond racial polarisation.
The greatest gift we can give to our children, and the future South Africa, is our own healing. South Africa may have moved beyond apartheid, but not beyond racial polarisation. Virtually every problem we face in this country is touched by our legacy of systemic racism and the psychological trauma it has caused to people of all races.
Racial healing is not a new, woke, talk shop. It is also not a ‘how-to’ guide for do-gooders. On the contrary, racial healing requires diverse people of all ages to embrace the unique and challenging complexity of racial diversity and to forge a human bridge between multiple opposing truths that can peacefully co-exist.
The Human Bridge challenges every South African to educate themselves to become more aware of race-related issues, read, research, watch, learn, unlearn, enlighten, understand, explore, unpack, overcome and interact with people from different race groups and to start having those difficult conversations about racial healing.
Join a community of individuals passionate about racial healing in South Africa. This webinar marked the exciting launch of The Human Bridge Movement. Our sole mission is create activities that drive and promote racial healing throughout South Africa.
Join The Movement
Join The Human Bridge Movement and help to build a more inclusive future.