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EventChad gains its independence
The French received considerable resistance in the 1920s to their plan to make Chad a French protectorate – under the command of conqueror Rabih al-Zubayr, the…
The Final Prize: My Life in the anti-apartheid struggle by Norman Levy
My Life in the anti-apartheid struggle by Norman Levy Norman Levy entered liberation politics during the 1940s, finding his niche in the left wing of the…
EventHugh Masekela, South African musician, is born
On 4 April 1939 Hugh Ramopolo Masekela, South African musician, was born in Witbank, South Africa. Masekela grew up playing the piano and at a young age was…
Statement by Oliver Tambo at the International Conference in solidarity with the frontline states and Lesotho, Lisbon, 25 March 1983
… and colonialism in southern Africa... In the early 1960s, African and other countries identified apartheid as a …
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,…
ArticleAfrican National Congress Timeline 1940-1949
In the 1940s the ANC rejuvenated itself and began to work more closely with the SACP, putting behind the antagonistic relationship between the two parties in…
SASPU National, 1980 - 1987
SASPU National was one of two publications produced by the South African Students Press Union (SASPU), the other being SASPU Focus. A non-profit newspaper,…
EventEllen Phyllis Hellmann, social anthropologist and executive member of the SAIRR, dies in Johannesburg
Ellen Phyllis Hellmann was born in Johannesburg in 1908. Her father had immigrated to South Africa from Germany in 1894. She studied Social Anthropology at the…
ArticleDrafting of the Final Constitution
Introduction The transition from the Apartheid era to the new democratic dispensation was a powerful and fundamental process for South Africans. With many…
EventMadagascar adopts its second constitution
Madagascar came under the colonial French Protectorate in 1890. By the late 1940's, the Malagasy had started to demand independence. A national uprising took…
BiographyMattheus Uys Krige
Mattheus Uys Krige and his contribution to the Second World War Mattheus Uys Krige (1910-1987) can certainly be counted among the most dynamic literary…
ArticleIndustrial and Commercial Workers Union (ICU)
During the 1920s, the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) - which changed its name to the African National Congress (ANC) in 1923 - did not…
BiographyCharles Robberts (Blackie) Swart
Charles Robberts (Blackie) Swart was born on 5 December 1894 in Morgenzon, Winburg district. He was the son of Hermanus Bernardus Swart and Aletta Catharina…
BiographyDenis Theodore Goldberg
Denis Theodore Goldberg was born on 11th April 1933 in Cape Town, Cape Province (now Western Cape). His parents, Sam and Annie, had both been born in London,…
EventAfrican National Congress Youth League is founded
The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) is the youth wing of the African National Congress. It was formed in 1944 by members of the ANC who believed…
ArchiveWebinar Programme: Socialism, Culture and Networks. Convenor: Omar Badsha
Culture/Creativity/Communism: cultural expression and South Africa’s communist movement by Judy Seidman This paper opens up the question about the role…
ArticleHistory Grade 11 - Topic 2 Contextual Overview
A cartoon illustrating the process of getting to the idealised “American Dream" Image Source Introduction Like communism in Russia, American capitalism…
EventNuclear Test Ban Treaty signed
Representatives of the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain sign a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited the testing of nuclear weapons in…
PlacePlumstead
Plumstead was developed on the site of an old VOC Military Camp some 13km South of Cape Town and, by 1823, was already a growing Village. The Cape Town-Wynberg…
EventSouth Africa closes its borders with Lesotho
On 1 January 1986 the South African Government closed its borders with Lesotho, cutting off fundamental food and fuel supplies. The relationship of the South…
EventThe trial of Dr Allan Boesak on charges of theft and fraud starts
Born in 1945 in the North West Cape, Boesak developed deep interests in religion and politics from an early age. At the age of 14 he became a sexton Dutch…
BiographyWangari Maathai
Wangari Muta Maathai Anchor was a prominent Kenyan environmental and political activist. Maathai is internationally renowned for her unrelenting efforts in…
“Exodus without a map”: What happened to the Durban moment? by Edward Webster
This paper was submitted to the 1973 Durban Strikes Celebrating 50 Years Conference Preamble Although I had known Vishnu for nearly…
ArticleNelspruit Timeline 1815-1996
1815 Louis Trichardt and Hans van Rensburg cross the Oranje/Gariep river. June 1836, Van Rensburg leaves Trichardt while Potgieter goes on an expedition to…
ArchiveChanging focus: The art and activism of Omar by Bongani Kona (Mail and Guardian), 4 June 2015
It’s early winter in Cape Town, cold and gray, when I take the 1044 train from Newlands station on a Saturday afternoon to meet the photographer Omar Badsha at…
ArticleForced Removals in South Africa
Forced removals refer to the moving of people from their homes against their will. This may not always involve physical threat or force, but sometimes coercion…
Freedom In Our Life Time - Notes
From the book: Freedom In Our Life Time by Anton Muziwakhe Lembede Booker T. Washington's educational philosophy of self-help and vocational and technical…
ArchiveThe Story of Jean Middleton by Grant Rohrmann
… paper and the SACP. Middleton joined the COD in the early 1960s. The COD launched in Johannesburg in January of 1953. …
Class, Consciousness and Organisation: Conclusion by Kumi Naidoo
This chapter comes from the book
PlaceCrossroads Township
Crossroads Township is situated in Cape Town in the Wynberg district, some 12 km east of Athlone in the Western Cape Province. Crossroads emerged as a…