Berkeley
In South Africa, the ‘Hard Work of Reconciliation’ Continues
By Cathy Cockrell, UC Berkeley News
Many people alive today are still recovering from wounds suffered during South Africa’s chaotic transition to democracy 20 years ago this month, Berkeley anthropologist Nancy Scheper-Hughes said Tuesday.
At a conference on “the hard work of reconciliation” in International House, a handful of those survivors were onstage to share their personal stories during the first of a series of campus events celebrating the legacy of Nelson Mandela.
They included South African Justice Albie Sachs, who helped draft South Africa’s Constitution and served as a jurist in the Constitutional Court.
“The person called the epitome of forgiveness,” Nelson Mandela, “didn’t use the word ‘forgiveness’ once” in his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” Sachs said. Reconciliation, he said – echoing a sentiment expressed by the other panelists – is “much more powerful than personal forgiveness.”
Albie Sachs
Sachs himself lost an arm and an eye in a car bombing by the apartheid regime while working for the African National Congress. He recalled experiencing “a sense of joy and euphoria that is still with me” when he woke in the hospital after the bombing and realized he’d survived the murder attempt he’d long feared. It was “the utter conviction that as I got better, South Africa would get better.” Rule of law would “be my vengeance.”
Also there to give witness to the redemptive power of reconciliation was Linda Biehl, whose daughter Amy, a 26-year old American student, was killed in South Africa during an anti-apartheid demonstration. She spoke in tandem with Ntobeko Peni, who was convicted in the attack but became a partner with Biehl in helping youth in impoverished townships.
“I would not be the person I am today” if not for the truth-and-reconciliation process – a process “I was totally against” at first, Peni said. About 20,000 people have testified before South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, airing crimes committed by both the brutal apartheid regime and its opponents.
Manfred Jacobs, a black South African correctional officer, shared personal anecdotes about Mandela’s transformative effect on prison guards – by learning Afrikaans and reaching out to them as persons. “Tata really tried to break down barriers,” he said of Mandela, whom he met during Mandela’s imprisonment.
Two speakers from the Americas followed the panel on South Africa: Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, a shaman and lands-rights activist from the Brazilian Amazon, and bioarchaeologist Ventura Perez, who spoke about the repatriation of Yaqui Indian remains as restorative justice in the U.S.-Mexico border region.
Explaining the two speakers’ connection to the South African experience, Scheper-Hughes noted that after the end of apartheid, Mandela came to the Bay Area to thank local activists, including those at UC Berkeley, for their support. During that visit, she said, Mandela received many letters from indigenous people in the United States and the Americas describing appalling living conditions and treatment.
Those letters “have left me deeply disturbed,” he reportedly said, urging U.S. activists to turn their attention to ongoing human-rights abuses on their own shores.
Activism
Black Repertory Group Needs Volunteers to Help Shape the Next Generation of Artists and Leaders
Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.
By Sean Vaughn Scott, Special to The Post
For more than 60 years, the Black Repertory Group (BRG) has changed lives through the arts.
Founded in 1964 by educators and visionaries Birel L. Vaughn and Nora Vaughn, BRG has become one of America’s oldest continuously operating Black theater institutions. For generations, it has preserved culture, developed talent, and provided opportunities for young people to discover their voices and their potential.
The results speak for themselves.
Legendary performers such as Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover worked with and were inspired by BRG’s founders. More recently, Grammy award-winning artist Kehlani attended the Black Repertory Group Summer Day Camp for several years.
Long before international recognition, Kehlani performed on the BRG stage. During a summer day camp production of “Princess and da Frog,” she portrayed Ray, the lovable firefly whose light guided others through the darkness. Her journey is proof that today’s camper may become tomorrow’s artist, entrepreneur, educator, or leader.
Located at 3201 Adeline St. in Berkeley, BRG continues that mission through its Youth Summer Day Camp of the Arts.
BRG is currently accepting applications and maintains an open enrollment program. Students may enroll throughout the summer as space permits and immediately become part of the BRG family.
We are also proud to be a multicultural opportunity program, welcoming children and families from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities. Through theater, music, dance, public speaking, visual arts, technical theater, and leadership development, students gain confidence, discipline, creativity, and lifelong skills.
As our programs grow, so does our need for volunteers.
We are seeking community members to assist with youth mentoring, registration, costumes, set construction, painting, props, ushering, photography, social media, marketing, technical theater, and fundraising activities. Whether you volunteer for a few hours or throughout the season, your support directly impacts the lives of young people.
BRG also partners with churches, civic organizations, alumni associations, fraternities, sororities, and community groups through theater party fundraisers, group sales, and buy-out performances. These partnerships have helped organizations raise funds while supporting arts and cultural programming.
The theater also serves as the home of the Berkeley NAACP Chapter, which meets every second Saturday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m.
For more than six decades, the Black Repertory Group has remained committed to one belief: every child deserves an opportunity to shine.
The next great artist may already be among us.
The next Kehlani may already be walking through our doors.
We invite you to volunteer, enroll, participate, and become part of the legacy.
For more information please go to www.blackrepertorygroup.com, call (510) 652-2120, or email info@blackrepertorygroup.com
Sean Vaughn Scott is the director of the Black Repertory Group.
Bay Area
UC Berkeley Named Top Public University in the U.S. and No. 7 in the World by ‘U.S. News’
Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014. “A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.
The 2026 Best Global Universities rankings evaluated 2,250 research institutions from more than 100 countries
By Lila Thulin
U.S. News & World Report has ranked UC Berkeley No. 7 in its 2026 list of the best global universities, which assesses more than 2,250 research institutions worldwide.
Berkeley also claimed the honor of top public university in the U.S.
Released on Monday, the list evaluates universities from more than 100 countries on 13 metrics such as global and research reputation (as reported by academics and peers) and number of highly cited scholarly papers.
Berkeley has been consistently awarded the distinction of the U.S.’s top public university since the Best Global Universities list was first published in 2014.
“A strong position in the Best Global Universities rankings recognizes a school’s profound commitment to world-class research and cross-border academic excellence,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.
The rankings also assess a university’s strength in various subject areas; these assessments are separate from U.S. News’ 2026 Best Graduate Programs rankings released in April.
This year, Berkeley was named in the top three nationally in seven subject areas – environment/ecology, ecology, water resources, physics, computer science, chemistry, and engineering – and in the top five for a total of 17 subjects. Subject rankings are based heavily on scholarly publications and citations as well as reputation.
In September, U.S. News also released its 2026 Best Colleges list, in which Berkeley was also named the No. 1 public institution among American universities.
That honor joins other accolades judging campus to be the best public university in the country, such as those from Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education.
Arts and Culture
Farwest Region Deltas Celebrate Centennial With “September Breakfast” Honoring Vivian Osborne Marsh
The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.
By Antoinette Porter
Hundreds of members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and their guests gathered at the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union at the University of California, Berkeley, to mark the 100th anniversary of the sorority’s Farwest Region.
The region was established in 1925 under the leadership of Vivian Osborne Marsh, who became its first Regional Director. Marsh was a pioneering scholar and civic leader, earning recognition as the first Black woman to receive both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in anthropology from UC Berkeley.
Marsh went on to serve as Delta Sigma Theta’s 7th National President, where she launched the sorority’s National Library Project to expand access to books in underserved Black communities in the South. During her presidency, the organization also became a prominent voice in the civil rights movement, lobbying Congress to pass anti-lynching legislation.
Bak in the Bay Area, Marsh devoted her career to advancing educational opportunities, mentoring young people, and strengthening community life. That commitment continues to shape the region, which supports initiatives in education, social justice, and economic development. Current projects include raising scholarship funds for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, voter education campaigns, and health and wellness programs.
A century after its founding, the Farwest Region of Delta Sigma Theta remains active across California and other western states, carrying forward Marsh’s vision of service and advocacy.
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