| 2009 11 13 Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture 2009 (by Justice Margaret Marshall) |
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The lecture was delivered by Justice Margaret Marshall, the 23rd Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Bram Fischer's life purpose, in his own words, was "to keep faith with all those dispossessed by apartheid." And keep faith he did. In his struggle to ensure that all South Africans enjoyed equal rights and shared equal opportunities, this man of privilege sacrificed everything - domestic tranquility, professional status, livelihood, and life itself. Bram Fischer lived, and died, for the cause of justice. He was a great patriot, and an enduring inspiration. I am immensely honored to deliver the Bram Fischer Memorial Lecture. I thank the Legal Services Trust for extending the invitation to me, but more importantly for its groundbreaking work furthering Bram Fischer's, and the new South Africa's, transformative vision of a just society. |