Charlotte Maxeke Ladies Fellowship (CMLF) and Sons of Allen (SOA) Commemorate the Life of Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke
By Rev. Lerato Motsoaledi, 19th Episcopal District
Since the launch of the Charlotte Maxeke Ladies Fellowship (CMLF) in the 19th District in 2014, the auxiliary has declared the month of April as Charlotte Maxeke Month. In the M.M. Mokone Conference, the CMLF has since celebrated the life of its namesake stalwart with all-night praise and worship experiences on the Fridays closest to her birthday, 7 April. This was our flagship programme until COVID-19 disrupted our worship traditions. However, every loss represents an opportunity; and during the lockdown restrictions, we commemorated our heroine differently.
Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke was a living embodiment of many values we strive to actualise, one of which is gender equality. From the infancy of the South African liberation struggle, she ensured that women’s emancipation was mainstreamed into the liberation agenda. Impressive gains have since been made towards women’s empowerment. Yet, more remains to be done. Today, her country has been infamously dubbed Femicide Nation. In keeping with honouring her legacy, the CMLF has committed to addressing the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV), ravaging the fabric of our society.
Many women and children privately and publicly bear the scars of traumatic abuse, both in the CMLF and the broader AME Church. The time to heal is now. Healing these deep-rooted wounds and dismantling structures of toxic patriarchy will only happen when women and men earnestly hold hands. Indeed, some men too have fallen victim to this GBV pandemic. Consequently, the CMLF saw it fit to partner with fathers of the church, in the form of the Sons of Allen (SOA), on this GBV initiative.
During the Episcopal Joint CMLF-SOA webinar on GBV, hosted by the Board of Christian Education, on 6 March 2021, Bishop E. Earl McCloud, Jr. intimated that our conversations ought to leave the head and enter the heart zone in order for meaningful transformation to happen. This resonated and to commemorate what would have been our stalwart’s 150th birthday, on 7 April 2021, CMLF-SOA hosted another GBV webinar. Athlete, rape survivor, and author of Yoyisa (Overcome), Ms. Ntombesintu Mfunzi was invited to share her journey of being victimised, surviving, and thriving with us. We thank God for her courage and for using her to give a face to unspeakable tragedies which continue to haunt us.
Especially heart-warming was being graced by the presence of a direct descendant of Koko Charlotte Makgabo Mannya-Maxeke, Advocate Modidima Mannya. His impassioned plea to the SOA for more meaningful conversations gave us hope that together we can heal our sometimes embittered gender relations and thereby claim our divine heritage of harmonious co-existence. Acts 2:1 says, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.”
