Contents
- Discovering Seme - Tim Couzens
- The Early Years - Richard Rive
- The Mount Hermon School File
- Product of Moody School
- How Congress Began -
- R V Selope Thema
Discovering Seme - Tim Couzens
There are two good reasons for the publication of this book. Firstly, the
name of Pixley kaIsaka Seme is today almost completely unknown. Yet it was
largely because of his ideas and inspiration that the African National Congress
was founded on an overcast but calm day (8 January) in 1912 (the subsequent days
of the conference were fine and calm!). There is no full biography of Seme.
Indeed, very little is known about his life. This book, then, aims to make
available hitherto unknown material connected with his early years and to give
insight into a character who was one of South Africa`s most important historical
figures.
Secondly, the book is intended to honour the memory of Dr Richard Rive,
scholar and writer (as well as friend). Richard Rive was brutally killed in
1989; his death was a shock to all those who remembered his affability; the
aetiology of his death lies in the complexity of the society in which he lived
most of his life. But he left behind him an uncompleted manuscript which
contained the story of an important discovery.
Northfield Mount Hermon School (situated in north-western Massachusetts) has,
in recent years, established scholarships to bring black South African students
to the school for a year`s free board and tuition. The school then tries to find
money and placings for successful students at universities. Some years ago it
broadened the scope of its programme to include several other schools and
Counsellor C. Yvonne Jones, organiser of the programme, visited South Africa in
1986 to publicize the scholarship among prospective candidates. In Cape Town she
met Richard Rive who had been appointed to Harvard University as Visiting
Professor in the Department of English and American Literature for Spring, 1987.
She mentioned to him that Pixley Seme had been a pupil at Mount Hermon around
the turn of the century.
In February, 1987, Rive visited Mount Hermon as Mrs. Jones`s guest. He was
shown a file of documents relating to Seme`s time at the School. The archivist
of the school library, Mrs. Linda Batty, had discovered the file after it had
lain undetected for over eighty years. Rive was allowed to have copies of these
papers and was thus able to reconstruct details of Seme`s early life. He was
full of gratitude to Mrs. Batty, Mrs. Jones and Northfield Mount Hermon School
and the book which follows has that file as its nucleus.
The originals of the letters, documents and newspaper cuttings are in the
school library. The collection contains nine documents (five application forms,
one list of Seme`s measurements for a suit, one receipt for a catalogue received
by him, and two unidentified, undated press cuttings) as well as twenty-seven
letters, most of them to Professor Henry Cutler (ten from Seme himself.) Rive
appears to have added two further newspaper cuttings to this collection. In
March, 1987, he wrote an introduction to the documents but does not seem to have
edited them or properly arranged them before his death two years later. In order
to complete the whole tale two further important pieces have been added: the
first is Seme`s prize wining speech `The Regeneration of Africa`, a seminal
piece of political thinking for those years just prior to the founding of the
ANC; the second is an article published in the July, 1953 edition of Drum
magazine in its celebrated series `Masterpieces in Bronze`. It is something of
an historic piece in its own right, written as it was by the recently retired
editor of Bantu World and doyen of black journalism, R. V. Selope Thema.
Although the documents relating to Seme are few in number and brief in scope
they give a fascinating insight into the early struggles of the man. For
students and scholars who might want to follow his footsteps there are several
addresses to visit. There are minute details as to his waist measurements and
smallness of size: more importantly, there is a clear indication as to how Seme
grows in stature, improving his language skills, growing in confidence, becoming
a world traveller with expanding knowledge, experience and vision.
Seme was not the first black South African to study overseas (Tiyo Soga was
ordained into the Presbyterian Church in Scotland in the 1850s, for instance)
but he was one of the earliest. These letters give a hint as to the
difficulties, particularly financial, which he and his contemporaries had to
face in their pursuit of higher education. They also hint at the kind of
networking that w as beginning to develop as a particular class of people began
to grow (Seme tried to help the Makanya family place at least one of its sons in
a school overseas). Above all, the letters provide some understanding of the
determination of Seme to succeed.
Black South Africans have been better served by autobiography than biography.
An exception is Brian Willan`s wonderful biography of Solomon Plaatje. If one
reads Seme`s letters in the light of Willan`s book and with the help of a
somewhat different study, Andre Odendaal`s Vukani Bantu! one can begin to
appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of a remarkable group of people at the
turn of the century - there were the four lawyers (Seme, Alfred Mangena, G. D.
Montsioa and R. W. Msimang) who studied overseas and made large contributions to
the early ANC; there were the Sogas, the Jabavus, the Rubusanas, the Jordans and
many more.1 They often combined many talents - their
professions, politics, journalism. Three of them started newspapers. Seme was to
be instrumental in the founding of the ANC`s newspaper Abantu-Batho in 1912 but
one of the tragedies of South African history is that no complete run of this
paper survives even though it lasted into the early 1930s.
Seme`s activities in 1912 were not only political and journalistic. He saw
the need for organisation and unity in the economic sphere, too. Consequently he
was the driving force in the founding of the Native Farmer`s Association of
Africa Limited. The directors of the company met for the first time in the
Realty Trust Building in Johannesburg on 25 October 1912 and Seme was made
chairman.2 The main purpose of the company was to
buy land for blacks to settle on, and in the Wakkerstroom District of the
Eastern Transvaal the farms of Daggakraal and Driefontein were bought; the land
remains in the hands of the original owners to this day, witnessing the
martyrdom a few years ago of the community`s leader, Saul Mkize, and the defying
of the attempts by the South African government at removal. Not only do we have
Seme`s political legacy still, in the form of the ANC, but we also have remnants
of an economic legacy in these farm communities.
But politicians must never be made into total heroes. Both Rive and Selope
Thema implicitly warn us against this. As a lawyer, Seme faced the great odds of
racial prejudice initially; later he became more established. But in 1932, the
Supreme Court removed his name from the Roll of Attorneys.3
The circumstances are not a credit to Seme.
A number of blacks had lived on the white-owned farm of Waverley in the
Pretoria district prior to the passing of the Natives Land Act of 1913. In the
1920s they came under the threat of eviction. They engaged Seme`s services but
the case was lost both in the magistrate`s court and in the appellate division.
The lawyer then failed to lodge a further appeal to the Supreme Court within the
prescribed three weeks and failed to notify his clients that this was a
possibility. The Waverley residents then complained that Seme had not used
properly the considerable sum of money they had paid him. Seme defended himself
by saying that some of the money had been paid not as legal fees but to defray
expenses which Seme claimed had been incurred trying to `fight the case
politically` by using `influence to reach the authorities politically.` His
clients retorted that they had never paid him anything other than for legal
services. The Incorporated Law Society of the Transvaal decided that it must
apply to the Transvaal Supreme Court for Seme`s removal from the register on the
grounds of neglect of his duties to his clients and of `excessive, unreasonable
and unconscionable` fees. Seme failed to appear or defend himself when the case
came before the Supreme Court. There is some doubt as to whether this removal
from the register had any practical effect because a curious note in a
miscellaneous fees book records that he `never ceased practising`. On 14 April,
1942, he was reinstated as a lawyer.
Sadly, too, the man who launched the ANC ship in 1912, nearly sank it when he
was its president in the 1930s. A combination of lethargy and corruption nearly
destroyed the organisation then. But in 1943 he made one last important
contribution - however inadvertently - to South African history. He took a young
man called Anton Lembede on as a law clerk. In that way, it could be argued,
Seme became the father of black attorneys in the country. Lembede took the legal
profession by such a storm that he kindled the idea of law as a profession
amongst many blacks. Lembede was also a key figure in the founding of the ANC
Youth League in 1944 and became its first president. He coined the term
`Africanism` and helped define the concept. On 3 August, 1946, Seme informed the
Transvaal Lawyers Association that he had sold his law firm to Lembede. Lembede
died the following year, however, at the age of thirty-three.4
In the preparation of the documents which follow, idiosyncrasies of spelling,
usage and style have largely been retained. Only occasionally have these been
changed (e.g. certain abbreviations) in order to make the text or its meaning
clearer. The reader should be warned that certain parts of the original
documents are unclear or may be missing and that some faults (e.g. in addresses
or initials of names) may have crept into the text presented here. No doubt,
too, Richard Rive would have acknowledged the help or thanked certain people.
That is no longer possible.
They will no doubt content themselves with being the anonymous contributors
to the preservation of the reputations of both Pixley Seme and Richard Rive.
They must be thanked on Rive`s behalf.
I, too, have several people to thank. Firstly, George Seme and D. Seme whom I
interviewed many years ago in Ladysmith and Swaziland respectively. Then,
Celeste Emmanuel who typed what was sometimes a very difficult text. Most of
all, Professor Charles van Onselen and the African Studies Institute of the
University of the Witwatersrand who gave me the time and encouragement to
undertake this task. There is obviously a great deal more to be done on Seme`s
life. It is hoped that this small book will encourage a full-scale biography and
help whoever embarks on such a worthy undertaking.
A number of addresses in America, England and South Africa are given in the
letters and witnessed, for shorter or larger periods, the presence of Pixley
Seme. It would be nice to think that, one day, Monuments commissions round the
world might commemorate them with plaques or street names. In the meantime we
must content ourselves with the memorial of a modest book. In it the voice of
Seme, the pioneer newspaperman, the guardian of land tenure, the father of black
attorneys, the founder of the ANC, speaks to us after nearly a century and his
hand reaches out (with the help of Richard Rive) to nudge our memories lest we
forget again.
Notes
1. For further information on Seme and the
founding of the ANC, see T. Karis and G. Carter, From Protest to Challenge,
Stanford University, 1977, particularly Volumes One and Four; Odendaal, Vukani
Bantu! Cape Town, 1984; P. Walshe, Rise of African Nationalism in South
Africa, London, l970; and T. Couzens, C. Seme: `Lawyer and Leader`, in African
Law Review, Volume 1, No.1 January, 1987, pp 4-5.
2. Minute Book of the Native Farmers
Association of Africa Limited (rescued from a garbage heap and now housed in the
African Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand).
3. Most of the following information comes
from the Supreme Court trial record and from the Transvaal Lawyers Association
Register.
4. For slightly fuller information on Lembede,
see T. Couzens, The New African, Johannesburg, 1985, particularly pages
258-261.
The Early Years - Richard Rive
During 1911, a thirty-year-old black lawyer with a growing practice in
Johannesburg, South Africa, took the major initiative in organising a
nation-wide congress of black representatives. This was an idea that had already
germinated in his mind eight years before while he was still an undergraduate
student in New York. His name was Pixley kaIsaka Seme. He was a Zulu
barrister-at-law, practising in the Transvaal as an attorney of the Supreme
Court of the Union of South Africa.
In this historic call, he emphasized the necessity for black unity.
The demon of racialism, the aberration of the Xhosa-Fingo feud, the animosity
that exists between the Zulus and the Tongas, between the Basutos and every
other native must be buried and forgotten... We are one people. These divisions,
these jealousies, are the cause of all our woes and of all our backwardness and
ignorance today.1
On January 8, 1912, his hope seemed to be realised when personalities from
black communities all over Southern Africa converged on Bloemfontein.
Appropriately Pixley Seme, as the initiator, gave the keynote address.
Chiefs of royal blood and gentleman of our race, we have gathered here to
consider and discuss a theme which my colleagues and I have decided to place
before you. We have discussed that in the land of their birth, Africans are
treated as hewers of wood and drawers of water. The white people of this country
have formed what is known as the Union of South Africa - a union in which we
have no voice in the making of laws and no part in their administration. We have
called you therefore to this conference so that we can together devise ways and
means of forming our national union for the purpose of creating national unity
and defending our rights and privileges.2
The assembled delegates then sang Tiyo Soga`s hymn, `Lizalise Dingalako Tixo
We Nyaniso` (Fulfill Thy Promise, God of Truth) and Seme formally proposed that
...The delegates and representatives of the great native houses from every
part of South Africa here assembled should form and establish the South African
Native National Congress.3
His motion was seconded by Alfred Mangena, a fellow lawyer, who had been
called to the bar two years earlier at Lincoln`s Inn, London. The African
National Congress was born.
Seme was elected Treasurer, Mangena one of the four Vice-Presidents and, in
absentia, Seme`s cousin, Reverend John Dube of Inanda, Natal, the President. Two
months later, on February 2, Dube made his first official call to the leaders,
chiefs and gentlemen of the South African Native National Congress.
Booker Washington is to be my guiding star (would that he were nigh to give
us the help of his wise counsel!). I have chosen this great man, firstly because
he is perhaps the most famous and the best living example of our Africa`s sons;
and, secondly, because like him, I, too, have my heart centred mainly in the
education of my race. Therein, methinks, lies the shortest and best way to their
mental, moral, material and political betterment.4
John Langalibalele Dube was the son of a minor Zulu chief of the Ngcobo line.
He was first educated at the American Board Mission at Amanzimtoti, Natal. Then
in 1887, as a sixteen-year-old boy, he managed to reach Oberlin College, Ohio,
where he trained as a teacher. He travelled widely in the United States
lecturing on self-help for Africans. In 1892 he returned to South Africa and two
years later was appointed superintendent of a Christian industrial school. He
returned to America in 1897 to study theology at a seminary in Brooklyn, where
he was later ordained as a minister of the Congregational Church. In 1900 he
returned to Natal.
While in the United States he had been strongly influenced by the work of
Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee and was desirous of setting up a similar
institution in South Africa. In 1901 he founded the Ohlange Institution in Natal
based roughly on Washington`s principles of self-help. Later, in 1903, he also
founded and edited the Zulu newspaper, Ilanga Lase Natal.
There is a fair amount of information available about John Dube but almost
nothing about his younger cousin Pixley Seme. The bare facts about Seme`s
earlier years are that he graduated from Columbia and Oxford and was called to
the bar at the Middle Temple, London. Material is also sparse about his years
after the establishment of the African National Congress. This might be because
his conservative influence, after the militant promise he had shown initially,
almost spelt the demise of that organisation. So lack-lustre and turgid was his
Presidency between 1930 and 1937, that Seme was at one stage accused of
`culpable inertia`. By the time he was ousted from office the Congress was all
but dead.
Recently some important documents connected with his school career in the
United States were unearthed by Mrs Linda Batty in the library archives of
Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts.
Today this is a prestigious education institution of over 1100 pupils. It is
situated on two campuses. But the school had humble beginnings. In 1881 Dwight L
Moody, evangelist and educator of East Northfield, Massachusetts, founded the
Mount Hermon School for Boys on the west side of the Connecticut River on high
sloping ground which commanded an extensive view of river, valley and mountain.
The site he selected was the Old Purple Farm which he procured after much
effort. Once he had done so, he got down on his knees on the vacant site, and
beseeched:
O Lord we pray that no teacher may ever come within these walls except they
have been taught by the Holy Spirit; that no scholars may ever come here except
as the Spirit of God shall touch their hearts.5
These words proved prophetic when amongst others it later touched the heart
of a quiet, humble, Zulu herdboy who would years after come from faraway Inanda
in Natal.
A few months after Mount Hermon School was established, Isaac Seme was born
on October 1, 1881, on the other side of the world, at a rural mission station
in South Africa.
Seme later claimed to be a nephew of Umqawe, one of the most powerful chiefs
of Zululand, but a conflicting opinion seemed to suggest that he came from a
humble, Tonga family which for a long time identified itself with the Zulus.6
What is known is that his parents were farmers, that he was called Isaac after
his father, and that both parents were Christians. They died while he was still
a young boy. Seme had brothers and sisters but there is no certainty about the
numbers. Two of his sisters were married to preachers.7
He initially attended a school at a missionary institution in Natal run by a
white American priest attached to the Congregational Board Mission in Natal.
Reverend S.C. Pixley was later to play a dominant role in Seme`s American
education, both as mentor and financial provider. In 1895, at the age of
fourteen, Seme entered the Amanzimtoti Institution, which had by then changed
its name to Adams Training School for Boys. Here he was under the principalship
of Mr. George B. Cowles. Seme also helped out on the local farm which made
Reverend Pixley later describe him as `... caring for cattle. He is a cowboy`.8
The young boy was given the opportunity of training as a teacher at Adams
School, but he desisted. He seemed bent on emulating the achievement of his
cousin, John Dube, and continuing his education in the United States. John Dube
was at the time in his second year at the theological seminary in Brooklyn.
Reverend Pixley was also temporarily back in the United States staying at the
Congregational House in Boston.
Isaac Seme, at the age of sixteen, with a bare smattering of English to
assist him, travelled second and third class for over 10 000 miles in 1898 until
he eventually reached his cousin in Brooklyn. For a few months he remained there
to improve his English. He then travelled to Reverend Pixley at Boston and
eventually found work as a bellboy at `The Northfield` hotel in north-western
Massachusetts.
The manager was Ambert C Moody, a nephew of Dwight Moody, the founder of the
nearby Mount Hermon School. Ambert had himself graduated from there in 1888. He
was now, in addition to running the hotel, the general advisor in all business
problems that confronted the school.9 Ambert might
have influenced Seme to seek admission or been instrumental in his gaining
admission. The principal was Henry F. Cutler, a B.A. graduate of Amherst
University, to whom Reverend Pixley applied for admission for Seme, ... `that he
may be fitted to be a teacher of a high type of piety - and ultimately a
missionary to the Zulu people 10
Seme`s academic attainment to date was sparse. This was a major obstacle, but
the more serious one was how to obtain annually the $100 required for tuition
and boarding. Reverend Pixley was prepared to find the money for the first year,
but since he would be returning to his mission station in South Africa, he could
not give any further guarantees. Seme would have to learn to rely on his own
efforts by working during the Summer vacations.
His case is a very interesting one. He has worked his way to America and
wishes to do all he can towards self-support... Try him for one year. Have faith
that his bills will be paid.11
Professor Cutler was prepared to accept the challenge and permission to enter
Mount Hermon was granted. Reverend Pixley sent two cheques for $25 mentioning
that:
He (Seme) has been at work at the hotel, `The Northfield` but will put in an
appearance at Mt Hermon on September 6th (1898). I hope to send him also some
clothing and an outfit in a day or two as soon as I can get to some place where
I can purchase the necessary articles... Hoping he will prove himself a boy
thoroughly in earnest to do good work and in due time if the Lord will be
prepared, to return to South Africa to aid in the elevation and Christianization
of the Zulus. Commending him to your Christian watch and care.12
John Dube, himself still a student at Brooklyn Seminary, managed to send a
money order for $38 and a cheque for $2. He promised to send the remaining $10
as soon as he could, and did so four days later.
In a beautiful, cursive hand, possibly to impress his penmanship on his
prospective principal, Seme wrote to Professor Cutler from `The Northfield`
hotel requesting a copy of the school catalogue. He signed the letter `Pixley
Seme, the Zulu Boy`.13 The new first name is interesting. He must have decided
to adopt it as a tribute to his guide and sponsor. He retained it for the rest
of his life.
There was also uncertainty about his ultimate profession. He gave these
variously as photographer, missionary and medical doctor. Only years later at
Columbia University did he add lawyer.14
In a questionnaire he was required to complete he was asked, `Do you believe
that you were a Christian before you came to Mount Hermon?` He replied in the
affirmative. The next question was `Do you believe you have become a Christian
since coming here?` He replied, `Much clearer.`15 Such was the influence of his
new school.
On September 6, 1898, Pixley Isaac Seme entered Mount Hermon School for boys
as a full-time pupil.
His tuition and board were paid up for that year and he had the promise of
clothes from Reverend Pixley. Either that missionary or John Dube contacted Mrs
Doubleday of New Jersey who in turn wrote to Professor Cutler to have Seme
measured up for clothes and the statistics sent to her. As a result the suit was
forwarded express to Seme by H.R. Jackson, tailors of Rutherford, New Jersey.16
By April, 1899, Reverend Pixley was about to return to South Africa. He was
worried because he had not heard from Seme for two months and feared that the
boy was ill. He was also concerned about the fees for the next academic year,
and suggested to Professor Cutler that Seme should try and procure work for the
Summer vacation. Seme did indeed do so and returned to his job at `The
Northfield`. There he was able to save $45.
John Dube in New York was also actively trying to raise extra money. He
approached Mrs Francis L. Stimson of Brooklyn, who in turn sought assistance
from Dr H.B. Silliman, a trustee of Mount Hermon, who three years later was to
donate a science laboratory to the school. She requested that Dr Silliman
contact Seme and suggest to the boy that he work for a year in order to raise
money. `He is an exceptional case- for which there may be some provision for he
has no home or friends this side the water.17
Nothing, however, came of this. Dr Silliman sent on that letter to Professor
Cutler for his consideration. Reverend Pixley in the meantime had found an extra
$50 towards the second year`s fees and was trying to interest what he referred
to as `some unnamed party to have a change of mind and help him (Seme) on his
course.18
Help indeed came albeit for the following year. Mrs Eliza Smith of Holyoke,
Massachusetts, sent a cheque for $100 directly to the founder of the school,
Dwight Moody19 (who died two months later). Reverend Pixley requested that Seme
not be informed about this windfall, to ensure that he would continue to work
during his Summer vacations and thus `depend mainly on himself`.20
Still more help came. Mr. A.J. Breinig, Secretary and Treasurer of the
Allentown Manufacturing Company in Pennsylvania, offered financial support. `The
Lord has put it into our hearts to provide the means for his next term at the
seminary.21
By this time John Dube had qualified as a Congregational minister in Brooklyn
and returned to Natal in order to found his Ohlange Industrial School.
Seme, unaware of how healthy his financial position was, spent the Summer
vacation working at Hotel American-Adelphi at Saratoga Springs, New York, where
he managed to save $50 which he promptly forwarded to his school principal.22
August 1901 was the beginning of Seme`s final year at Mount Hermon. It also
saw the start of Seme asserting his rights as an individual. His views on racial
attitudes seemed to have crystallised from passive acceptance to an aggressive
assertiveness. This had nothing to do with his stay at Mount Hermon where he was
treated like anyone else. He did fall foul of Mr. Charles Dickerson,
Vice-Principal and teacher of Natural Science and Mathematics. There seemed to
have been some dispute about room distributions for the coming year and Seme
wrote a strong reply to Mr. Dickerson who was in charge of room allocations.
I suppose it makes no difference with you where I sleep anyway - I don`t
believe it so I guess I better write anyway. I thought it best for me to send my
room allocation now because I will come in late in the afternoon 29th. I will be
very well pleased if you will fill my place as best you can in the following
order.
C. Hall (Cressley Hall)
1st choice 96 or 98
2nd choice 53 or 51
3rd choice South East Corner. 2nd Floor
I don`t want the 4th at all so don`t try it. 4th Choice South West Corner. 2nd
Floor.
Then followed this peculiar request. `For my room mate put the best new
coloured fellow.23
Could it be that Seme`s racial attitude was now manifesting itself and that
he was seeking sanctuary within the safety of a black identity`? This latent
awareness of his colour situation was to play an increasing role in his later
development which would culminate, just over a decade later, in the African
National Congress.
In April, 1902, Pixley Seme graduated from Mount Hermon School for Boys. He
spent the vacation working on a farm for Mr. Breinig of the Allentown
Manufacturing Company, who had assisted him financially two years before.24
A new problem arose, that of finding a university place and money for tuition
and board. At his request Professor Cutler applied to Yale University. The
application was processed by Alfred K. Merritt who might have had some former
connections with Mount Hermon.25 Seme was to write the entrance examination at
his old school. Once he had gained admission, there would be scholarships
available.
Seme also applied for admission to Columbia University in New York. He was
deeply disappointed when he was unsuccessful in his bid for a Yale entry.
Instead, at the age of twenty-one, he entered Columbia University in September,
1902.
He still received assistance from diverse quarters. A niece of Reverend
Pixley, Mrs. Beale, sent $5 and a letter to Professor Cutler to forward to Seme,
with the promise of more to come later.26
In New York he was now a jaunty, talkative young man full of self-confidence.
In the big city he was in his element and the disappointment of Yale faded into
oblivion.
This is a very fine College. I am sure I could not have made a better choice.
The students as well as professors make it very pleasant for me.27
For his first vacation he had the romantic idea of becoming a gentleman`s
gentleman aboard a pleasure yacht. The newspapers played up the story and
headlined the item, `Royal Zulu Willing to Become a Valet`.28 His alleged royal
image could have been deliberately cultivated or mere newspaper sensationalism.
The article also stated his intention of qualifying as a medical doctor rather
than a lawyer. A further paragraph in the same article stated that Seme was
embarrassed by the attention he was receiving. Seme might have been more
cautious about certain inexactitudes reaching his cousin, John Dube, who was
running Ilanga Lase Natal. Nevertheless he was enjoying the publicity and
attention he was receiving and taking it all in his stride. He did not get the
position as a valet but instead procured the less romantic and more menial
position, at Kent House, Greenwich, Connecticut, of a storeman and a general
handyman. He earned $30 per month with board.
Seme graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Columbia University,
in April, 1906, and at the same time won the University`s highest oratorical
honour, the George William Curtis medal. His subject was `The Regeneration of
Africa`.
By this time he had adopted the more resounding and impressive name of Pixley
ka (son of) Isaka Seme. The newspaper article about his oratorical success added
that he was going to read law at Oxford for four years and then return to South
Africa to become `Attorney General for his people`.
Seme was engaged by the New York Board of Education Public Lecture Bureau to
deliver a series of free public lectures on `Life in Zululand`. This was a far
cry from working as a bellboy or storeman. His confidence was now such that he
told the reporter, `It is easy for me to learn and I can do anything I make up
my mind to do.29
In September, 1906, he entered Jesus College, Oxford, to read law. Because of
his interest in debate and current affairs he soon joined the Oxford Union. He
wrote to Professor Cutler in 1908 that that was going to be his last year of
undergraduate life in colleges.30 After all he had lived in dormitories and
institutions for eleven years and had never been back to South Africa during all
that time. He cut short his Summer vacation to complete his course as soon as
possible, and in June, 1909, gained the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law and
passed his first bar examinations. He went down to London and afterwards was
called to the bar at Middle Temple. In 1910 he finally returned to South Africa.
Seme had left as a quiet but ambitious herdboy twelve years before and now
returned as a sophisticated, highly qualified professional and a man of the
world.
While in London in 1909, he had made contact with the W.P. Schreiner
delegation which attempted to plead against discriminatory articles contained in
the proposed Act of Union. Seme met with Reverend W. Rubusana, John Tengo Jabavu
and his later legal and political colleague, AIfred Mangena. With them he
discussed the possibility of a permanent nation-wide congress of black leaders.
When he returned in 1910, his first brief was the defence of an African
charged with the assault of a white man. His mind was now concentrating on a
congress of black people, and the following year his purpose was realised with
the establishment of the South African Native National Congress.
Seme built up a large legal practice and his clients included the Swazi Royal
Family. Later he married the daughter of Dinizulu, paramount chief of the Zulus.
In 1928 his former university, Columbia, conferred on him the honorary degree of
Doctor of Laws.
The leadership of the African National Congress was held by J.T. Gumede in
1928. He set the organisation on a course of alliance with the Communist Party
of South Africa which alarmed the conservative faction in the movement, who
rallied around Seme. In 1930 Seme captured the Presidency from Gumede by 39
votes to 14.
Seme`s leadership was conservative, lack-lustre and autocratic. He had grand
designs of making the African National Congress an engine of economic self-help.
He also tried to revive the now defunct House of Chiefs with which the Congress
had been burdened at its inception. In 1937 he was replaced as leader by Z.R.
Mahabane in spite of his packing annual conferences with his own delegates. Seme
retired into the political wilderness and spent the rest of his life
concentrating on his lucrative legal practice. In June, 1951, he died in
Johannesburg.
The African National Congress was now under the militant leadership of Chief
Albert Luthuli, and was taking a more dynamic direction. The Leaders gathered in
Johannesburg for the funeral of Seme and used the occasion for the discussion of
a closer political liaison with the South African Indian Congress. This was to
be initiated by jointly launching the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign the
following year with Nelson Mandela as the Volunteer-in-Chief. It can thus
correctly be said that the old, conservative, passive African National Congress
was buried on June 17, 1951, in the grave with Pixley kaIsaka Seme.
References
1. Peter Walshe, The Rise of African
Nationalism in South Africa. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press,1971), p.33.
2. Ibid., p.34.
3. Ibid., p.35.
4. Ibid., p.37.
5. Thomas Coyle (ed.), The Storm of Mount Hermon (Mount
Hermon, Mass: Mount Hermon Alumni Association,1906), p.8.
6. The statement that Seme was of Tonga background was made by
Jordan Ngubane, writer and politician. See Thomas Karis and Gwendolyn Carter
(ed., From Protest to Challenge. A Documentary History of African
Politics in South Africa (1882-1964). Vol. 4. (Stanford: Hoover Institution
Press, 1977), p.137. For references to Dube see p.24.
7. In his application for admission to Mount Hermon it is stated
that both Seme`s sisters were married to preachers. (Library, Northfield Mount
Hermon, August, 1898.) A newspaper cutting, `Royal Zulu Willing to Become
Valet`, mentions that Seme had a younger brother studying for the ministry at
Benedict College, South Carolina. (Library, 1903.)
8. Application to Mount Hermon, August 1898.
9. Coyle, Op. Cit., p.75.
10. Application to Mount Hermon, Op. Cit.
11. Pixley to Cutler, August 13,1898.
12. Pixley to Cutler, September 5, 1898.
13. Seme to Cutler, August 26, 1898. This is the first known
document in Seme`s hand.
14. Application to Mount Hermon, Op. Cit. His wishing to
become a lawyer is first mentioned in the newspaper article, `Royal Zulu Willing
to Become Valet`, Op. Cit.
15. Application to Mount Hermon, Op. Cit.
16. Doubleday to Cutler, February 2,1899.
17. Stimson to Silliman, August 26, 1899.
18. Pixley to Cutler, September 18,1899.
19. Smith to Moody, October 24, 1899.
20. Pixley to Cutler, September 18,1899.
21. Breinig to Cutler, December 26,1899.
22. Seme to Cutler, August 30,1900.
23. Seme to Dickerson, August 22,1901.
24. Seme to Cutler, May 14, 1902. See also Breinig to Cutler,
December 26,1899.
25. Merritt to Cutler, May 31, 1902. At the funeral of Mrs.
Cutler in 1902, a prayer was said by Reverend George Power Merritt, who had
graduated from Mount Hermon in 1895. He could have been a relation. See Harriet
Louise Ford Cutler. (The Living Recollections of Pupils and Friends) (East
Northfield, Mass.: the Book store, n.d. 1902).
26. Beale to Cutler, January 1, 1903.
27. Seme to Cutler, January 17,1903.
28. `Royal Zulu Willing to Become Valet`, Op. Cit.
29.` Zulu of King`s Race a Prize Orator`, unnamed, undated
press cutting, Library, 1906).
30. Seme to Cutler, September 5,1908.
The Mount Hermon School File
Application for admission Mount Hermon School
Applicants will understand that filling out this blank does not imply the
acceptance of the candidate.
Every application will be considered on its own merits, and its relation to
other applications, existing vacancies, and the purpose of the school.
Meritorious cases may be refused because they do not fall in line with the
special design of the school or because others have made prior claims.
Applicants are requested to answer every question with equal care and candor.
Flattering or misleading statements regarding the mental and moral character of
a candidate may bring about his admission to the school, but will only act
against him when he is here seen and known.
Among the indispensable conditions of admission are a sound mind and a sound
body. Feeble minds with no aptitude for study, and feeble bodies with no power
of endurance, are excluded, not because they need no help, but because the
school is adapted to this class of pupils. Lazy boys are not desired.
Every candidate accepted is received upon the understanding that he will
prove himself worthy of the advantages offered him or consent to forfeit them.
The parent, guardian, or some responsible person will fill out this blank and
return to the Principal of the school.
Please send photograph of applicant and also letter of own composition and
writing, stating what studies he has pursued, what his purpose in life is, and
which of the courses he wishes to take here.
Name of candidate Pixley I. Seme
Address
Date of birth October 1, 1881
Inanda Mission Station
Date of filling out this blank August 12, 1898
When do you wish to enter? This fall, 1898
What class do you hope to enter?
Do you apply for the full course? Yes
If not, how long do you intend to remain?
Name and address of parent Louis Stoiben
Esq.
722 Broadway
N.Y City
1. Full name of candidate for admission.
Pixley I. Seme
2. Birthplace.
Inanda, Natal, South Africa.
3. Send a physician`s certificate as to health, specifying any weakness. Has
good health.
4. Has candidate done anything toward self-support? Yes. In what occupation?
Taking care of cattle. `Cowboy`.
5. What schools attended and how long? Mission School in South Africa.
6. Amount of work done in the following studies, give rank if possible:
Arithmetic: Square root
Grammar and analysis: Analysis
of complex sentences
Geography: Longman`s Geography
U.S. History: He studied British
History
7. If higher branches have been studied, state amount of work done in each.
8. Any marked preferences in study, reading and occupation? No preference.
9. Has candidate shown ambition to excel in anything?
10 Has he formed any purpose in life?
11. What prominent traits of character? A good boy.
12. Has he had any bad companionships? No.
13. Does he use tobacco? No. Has he any bad habits? No.
14. Is he a member of any church? He is a member of the Inanda Congregational
Church in Natal, South Africa.
15. In what religious belief educated? Congregationalism.
16. If not a member of a church, has he shown any interest in religion?
17. Why do you wish to send him to this school? I regard this school as being an
ideal for the purpose the young man has to be of service in his country.
18. Does the candidate himself wish to come here? Yes.
19. Full names and addresses of father, mother, guardian, or nearest friend.
His parents are dead and I, John
L. Dube are willing to sign my name here.
John L. Dube, Incwadi, Natal,
South Africa.
20. Are they in church membership? Both his parents were Xians
21. Their occupation and means? Farmers.
22. Who will be responsible for the pupil`s board and tuition? Mr. Louis Stoiben
of N.Y. City, 722 Broadway.
23. Who will be responsible for other expenses? Himself.
24. Send address of pastor and some business man.
1. Name: Pixley I. Seme
2. Do you intend to go to college? Yes.
3. What profession or occupation do you hope to enter? Missionary
4. Have you a trade?--What?--
5. Are you a communicant member of any church? Yes.
6. If so, of what denomination? Congregational.
7. Do you believe you were a Christian before you came to Mt. Hermon? Yes.
8. Do you believe you have become a Christian since coming here?
1. Name: Pixley I. Seme
2. Do you intend to go to college? Yes, if nothing will prevent.
3. What profession or trade do you hope to enter? Not decided.
4. Have you a trade? Yes. What? Photographer.
5. Are you a communicant member of any church? Yes.
6. If so, of what denomination? Congregationalist.
7. Do you believe you were a Christian before you came to Mt. Hermon? Yes.
8. Do you believe you have become a Christian since coming here? Yes.
1. Name: Pixley I. Seme
2. Do you intend going to college? Yes.
3. What profession or occupation do you hope to enter? Medicine.
4. Have you a trade? Yes. What? Photographer.
5. Are you a communicant member of any church? Yes.
6. If so, of what denomination? Congregational.
7. Do you believe you were a Christian before you came to Mt. Hermon? Yes.
8. Do you believe you have become a Christian since coming here?
1. Full name of candidate for admission: Seme, Isaac
2. Birthplace: Inanda Mission Station, Natal, South Africa.
3. Send a physician`s certificate as to health, specifying any weakness.
Never has been sick. Born of
healthy parents.
4. Has candidate done anything toward self support? Yes. In what occupation? As
labourer on farms and Assistant Photographer at Adams.
5. What schools attended and how long? Mission Station School and Adams High
School - three years.
6. Amount of work done in the following studies, give rank if possible:
Arithmetic
Grammar and Analysis. Geography
History
7. If higher branches have been studied, state amount of work done in each.
8. Any marked preferences in study, reading and occupation? Photography.
9. Has candidate shown an ambition to excel in anything?
10 Has he found any purpose in life? Hope to fit himself as a teacher.
11. What prominent traits of character? Patience, perseverance.
12. Has he had any bad companionships?
It is hardly possible to travel
10,000 miles as a second or third class passenger and not meet with evil men but
his intimate companions have been good and religious.
13. Does he use tobacco? No. Has he any bad habits? His missionary teacher does
not know of any.
14. Is he a member of any church? Is a member of the Lindley Mission Church, at
Inanda, Natal, South Africa.
15. In what religious belief educated? Protestant, Evangelical
Congregationalist.
16. If not a member of a church has he shown any interest in religion?
See reply to question 14.
17. Why do you wish to send him to this school? That he may be fitted to be a
teacher of a high type of piety and ultimately a missionary to the Zulu people.
18. Does the candidate himself wish to come here? Yes, if he can do something
towards self support.
19. Full names and addresses of father, mother, guardian or nearest friend.
Parents both dead. Missionaries
of the Zulu mission and John Dube are his nearest friends. Has