The Rev. Mathibela Sebothoma spent much of his early life combating racism and apartheid in his home country of South Africa. Now, as a graduate student in the College of Communication, he fights discrimination in Milwaukee and plans to improve mass communication in South Africa when he returns.

"That's one area that's undeveloped in Africa," said Sebothoma, a diocesan priest who has a bachelor's degree in sacred theology from the Urban Pontifical University in Rome. "You can use mass communication to bring progress in the life of the community."

Sebothoma, 37, was born in a nation ravaged by discrimination and violence. He grew up with eight siblings in Pretoria, a township he said is much like a ghetto.

South Africa was "dominated by racial politics" and apartheid until 1994, Sebothoma said.

Sebothoma participated in protests and other forms of student politics throughout high school and college. He was arrested for public violence at the age of 14 during a demonstration and was later arrested five more times on similar or more serious charges as a result of the Internal Security Act, which allowed people to be detained without trial.

The arrests stemmed from situations in which demonstrators reacted to police shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd, Sebothoma said. Several of the demonstrations concerned the suppression of those who opposed apartheid.

After he went to church with a friend and saw how concerned his peers were about happenings in their society, Sebothoma said he got more involved in justice and peace initiatives.

"That still did not stop the security police from harassing us. They'd come to church meetings and shoot tear gas," Sebothoma said. "They justified discrimination by quoting the Bible."

According to Sebothoma, the police had more power than the citizens and "brought fear into the lives of the people."

Politics were unavoidable in South Africa, Sebothoma said.

"That helped me to appreciate life," he said. "It sharpened my mind, made me conscious about human rights."

Ellen Warren is a member of the Riverwest Committee on Racism in Milwaukee with Sebothoma.

"I recognize that he was one of the kids they talked about being imprisoned," Warren said. "I can't imagine what he was feeling at that point in time."

Warren said fliers stating "a threat to black people regarding their attendance at Summerfest" were posted in the community, prompting the formation of the committee "to work on the problem of racism and segregation in Milwaukee."

Sebothoma, who arrived at Marquette in late 2004, also pioneered the celebration of Human Rights Day on March 21, a holiday honoring those affected by state violence in South Africa. He said the day brought Milwaukee organizations together "to work for the betterment of society."

In Milwaukee, Sebothoma lives in and works with the Riverwest neighborhood and also works with the South African consulate to encourage American business investments in South Africa; he has also initiated an effort to activate the South African community in Milwaukee and Chicago.

Although women are still oppressed in South Africa, Sebothoma said the nation "has taken a leadership role in Africa against undemocratic ways and dictatorships" by electing the first female deputy president, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in African history.

"We needed to liberate our land from many years of oppression and restore the dignity of our people," he said.

One of Sebothoma's most exciting experiences was seeing the liberation of South Africa unfold, he said.

"Imagine the excitement of our parents and our grandparents voting for the first time in their lives. When the prison doors were opened, all the political prisoners came back to their families," he said. "All those who were exiled came home. People were free to move around, to express their opinions."

Warren said she found Sebothoma's ideas to be inspiring.

"He offers some really interesting insight into how small things that can be done have major results," she said.

Sheena Carey, internship director for the College of Communication and Sebothoma's former classmate said, "He's an activist, a person who sees that change needs to occur but doesn't sit back and wait for somebody else to do it. He'll take direct action to make sure that change occurs."

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on October 13, 2005.