Medicine on the Rand: The Biko Doctors and South Africa's Sharp Dissection
Department
History
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-2017
Abstract
The Johannesburg-based Rand Daily Mail’s September 15, 1977, edition contains a striking amalgamation of headlines on page 2: “Kruger Lays Down His Own Condition,” outlining South African Minister of Justice Jimmy Kruger’s attempt to convince anti-apartheid activists that white South Africans deserved most credit for the country’s economic and political development; “SA Faces UN Fury” and “Why UK Is Reluctant on Sanctions,” juxtaposing two divergent international opinions toward redressing the country’s infamous racial policies; “World Shocked at Biko Death;” and “Ex-Policeman Gets Twin Heart,” sharing the story of the world’s seventeenth heart-transplant recipient. While these may, at first glance, seem a tad disjointed, they reveal the beginnings of a larger thematic story—that of a national medical profession grappling with a new spotlight and its own responsibilities within an oppressive state system.
Publication Title
Readex Report
Publisher Statement
Copyright (2016) Readex Report and by NewsBank, inc.
Recommended Citation
Houser, Myra Ann, "Medicine on the Rand: The Biko Doctors and South Africa's Sharp Dissection" (2017). Articles. 74.
https://scholarlycommons.obu.edu/articles/74