This is the topic of the 45th Hoernlé Memorial Lecture, to be delivered this evening by Advocate Mark Oppenheimer.
You can attend in person, at the Country Club Johannesburg in Auckland Park, or online (details below).
Hate speech has become increasingly prevalent, fuelled by social media, political polarisation, and the rise of extremist groups. It can have a profoundly negative impact on individuals and communities, causing harm, inciting violence, and perpetuating discrimination.
However, hate speech is notoriously difficult to define and regulate.
Advocate Oppenheimer will discuss real-life court cases involving offensive flags, demands for an end to gay marriage, and songs calling for the slaughter of ethnic minorities. Along the way he will examine the value of freedom of expression and determine whether it should ever be limited.
The Hoernlé Memorial Lecture series was instituted by the IRR in 1945. They commemorate two of the most prominent members of the Institute’s early days: the husband-and-wife team of Professor Alfred Hoernlé (IRR president 1933-1943) and Dr Winifred Hoernlé (IRR president 1948-1950).
The inaugural Hoernlé lecture was delivered by Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, IRR vice-president and honorary life member, in 1945 on the topic of “Christian principles and race problems”. Other distinguished speakers included IRR co-founder Professor Edgar Brookes on the Institute’s first 21 years in “We come of age” (1950), Archbishop Dennis Hurley on “Apartheid: A crisis of the Christian conscience” (1964), Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi on “White and black nationalism, ethnicity and the future of the homelands” (1974), Dr Alan Paton on “Towards racial justice: Will there be a change of heart?” (1979) and again on “Federation or desolation” (1985) – the only speaker to have delivered two Hoernlé lectures – Professor Jonathan Jansen on “When does a university cease to exist?” (2005) and Professor RW Johnson on “The future of the liberal tradition in South Africa” (2011).
The speakers often tackled thorny questions relating to race, ideology and South Africa’s future. In their explorations, they reflected the most pressing preoccupations of their times, giving us a window into the past that shows contemporary views on issues that often seemed intractable at the time. It is sobering to look back from today’s vantage point and realise how far South Africa has come – and how much still remains to be done to create a free and prosperous South Africa for all.
Read more on the IRR website here.
To attend this evening’s lecture in person, please email info@freespeech.org.za
To stream the lecture live, please click here