Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town

Date: 20 Feb 1925
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Justin Alexander la Guma was born in District Six, Cape Town on 20 February 1925. His father, Jimmy La Guma was of Cuban descent, which made him mixed race in South Africa and was classified as Coloured. La Guma’s father was involved in anti-apartheid activism, a path that he would also follow. La Guma was also a talented writer and wrote several books, most of them depicting the plight of black people under apartheid. He was arrested several times as an activist, and would use his time in jail to write. He later went to exile in England before returning to his father’s native country Cuba, where he became an African National Congress (ANC) representative. He died in 1985.

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01SAHO, Alex la Guma, from South African History Online, [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 11 February 2013]
02Britannica, Alex La Guma, from Encyclopaedia Brittanica, [online], Available at www.britannica.com [Accessed: 11 February 2013]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2013, February 14). Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094871

South African History Online (2013) 'Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town', South African History Online, 14 February. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094871 (Accessed: 26 July 2026).

South African History Online, Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094871, (accessed 26 July 2026).

"Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town." South African History Online, 14 Feb. 2013, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094871. Accessed 26 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Justin Alexander (Alex) La Guma, SA novelist, short story writer and political activist, is born in Cape Town." South African History Online. February 14, 2013. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0094871.