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SAAAH: “Reception / Perception”
Post-structuralist discourse has resulted in a shift in emphasis from the author to the reader, or the production of art to its reception. Reception/perception…
Biography of Arthur Nortje by Kangkang Yang
Abstract: For most of his life, Arthur Nortje’s poetry remained relatively unknown, especially since he died very young at 28. Activist Dennis Brutus called…
ArticleThe Black Sash: A History of Transformation
This article was written by Ashley Schumacher and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project During the year of 1955 in…
Women’s Resistance Against the Pass Laws
During its long history of struggle, the ANC has always been in the vanguard of the struggle against racism, today known by the name 'apartheid". Some of these…
ArticleThe Cattle Killing Movement
1. Introduction ↵The value of history is derived from its obligation to view all factors and clues of the past that lead up to one particular moment, event or…
ArticleMedu Art Ensemble
In 1977, a group of "cultural workers"from the townships fled into exile in Gaborone, Botswana; including Molefe Pheto, from Mhloti Theatre. Thami Mnyele…
Prehistory: Pre colonial farmers in Gauteng
Prehistory of Southern AfricaFarming people did not inhabit the Greater Johannesburg region until the Late Iron Age. Then, beginning in the 15th century,…
ArticleAzanian People’s Organization (AZAPO)
In aftermath of the June 16 Uprising, the government cracked down on student activists and organisations alike. On 19 October 1977 the Black Consciousness…
ArticleThe death of Samora Machel
This feature celebrates Samora Machel and examines the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death and acknowledges the contribution that he made to…
ArticleStrong and Unnoticed: The Women of the UDF by Reid Arnold
Abstract The UDF was an umbrella organization that was founded to unify the hundreds of Anti-Apartheid movements occurring in the 1980s. Female leaders such…
ArticleThe Crackdown on the Black Consciousness Movement in 1973
The period after the Sharpeville Massacre and the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan African Congress (PAC), especially after the…
ArticleTimeline Interim Constitution 1991 to 1993
1991 On 13 November 1991, Nelson Mandela announced that the first constitutional talks would take place on 29 and 30 November at the World Trade Centre in…
ArticleAfrican National Congress (ANC)
The African National Congress (ANC) is South Africa's governing party and has been in power since the transition to democracy in April 1994. The organisation…
ArticleFederation of Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW)
The Federation of Transvaal Women (FEDTRAW) was formed on the 8th of December 1984, bringing together close to 200 women from all over the Transvaal (now known…
ArticleHistory of ‘New Age’ Newspaper
The Predecessor of this left-wing publication was The Guardian. The Guardian itself was founded in 1937 by trade unionists, university professors and some…
Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal (PACT)
PACT was founded in Pretoria on 3rd January 1963 with P.P.B Breytenbach as the first director. It was founded under the same principle as the Cape Performing…
Indian Community in Lenasia
From the very beginning, settlement in Lenasia was a contentious issue, driven with debates about race, class, collaboration with and resistance to apartheid…
General South African History Timeline: 1800s
1799-1802 Khoi-San rise up in an unsuccessful but protracted rebellion in the eastern districts of the Cape in what becomes known as the Third War of…
The ANC Women’s League in the Struggle for Women’s Rights in South Africa by Meghan Knapp
This article was written by Meghan Knapp and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Abstract The African National…
Control: 1910 - 1948
Intervention from Above: The 1913 Native Land Act "Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave,…
ArticleThe Angolan Civil War (1975-2002): A Brief History
The overthrow of Portugal’s Prime Minister, Marcello Caetano, on 25 April 1974 hailed a watershed moment for the former Portuguese colonies of Mozambique,…
Article1910-1924: African nationalism and working-class and popular protests
Introduction General Louis Botha headed the first government of the new Union of South Africa, with General Jan Smuts as his deputy. Their South African…
ArticleAfrican nationalism and working-class & popular protests, 1910-1924
General Louis Botha headed the first government of the new Union of South Africa, with General Jan Smuts as his deputy. Their South African National Party,…
ArticleWomen in the Cities and the Resistance Movement
ArticleBritain takes control of the Cape
The arrival of the British at the Cape changed the lives of the people that were already living there. Initially British control was aimed to protect the trade…
ArticleMusic and culture as forms of resistance
Music Music was a central feature of the urban culture that developed in Johannesburg and in Sophiatown in particular. It was here that the most important…
Article1913 Satyagraha Campaign Resumes
Introduction A provisional settlement was reached in 1911. But in the letter of 12 September 1913 reproduced below, A.M. Cachalia, chairman of the British…
ArticleRight to Organise Timeline 1500-1994
1500-1800 This period is marked by the advent and growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade affecting West Africa, Central and East Africa. On the Southern African…
ArticleThe Tricameral Parliament, 1983-1984
Introduction The Tricameral Parliament, a three-tiered assembly that presided over the last decade of Apartheid, was inaugurated to allow for parliamentary…
ArticleSouth African Constitution: The Bill of Rights
On 21 March, South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day. This day is a commemoration of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and how far the nation has come in the…