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New edition of Richard Turner’s The Eye of the Needle 

Described by Nelson Mandela as a source of inspiration, Richard Turner was a central figure in the white South African student movement and key in its radicalization. 


Turner acquired his doctorate at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he was inspired by the events of 1968, and returned to South Africa increasingly influenced by Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness movement. His work was forceful and revolutionary, causing him to be banned, confined to his home, and eventually assassinated by state security forces in 1978. 

Turner’s most influential and incendiary text, The Eye of the Needle, is being returned to print at a critical moment in South African history, when many have turned their attention once again to Black Consciousness and a reconsideration of the Durban Moment. 

The Eye of the Needle is a largely utopian statement, advocating for the creation of a socialist society couched in the language of Christian ideology. Against the backdrop of contemporary labor disputes and the appearance of new unions and emergent calls for the re-radicalization of South African politics, Turner’s work is newly relevant. 

​Accompanied by Tony Morphet’s contextualizing essays, the book provides readers with an excellent entry point for both historical reflection on 1970s South Africa and critical engagement with contemporary social justice.



http://www.chrflagship.uwc.ac.za/launch-of-the-new-edition-of-turners-the-eye-of-the-needle/



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A full length biography of Rick Turner, Durban-based political philosopher and activist who was assassinated in 1978, was published during 2013. Two reviews of Billy Keniston's Choosing to be Free. The life story of Rick Turner (Jacana Media, 2013) raise central issues about Turner's life and work.




Eddie Webster reviews Choosing to be Free. First published in Transformation, 85, 2014, and republished with permission of the author and the editors.
Richard Pithouse reviews Choosing to be Free. First published in Interface: a journal for and about social movements, 6(2), November 2014, and republished with permission of the author.
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