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Chapter 3. The Poor White Problem - Garment Workers in Action by E. S. Sachs
From the moment I assumed office, I came face-to-face with the "Poor White" problem, one of the major tragedies of South Africa. People abroad believe that…
ArticleWomen’s Revolts in Natal: 1959
Most people credit the abolition of apartheid to many organisations and leaders, such as the African National Congress and Nelson Mandela. It is, however,…
A new class struggle
While historians are generally in agreement that the main anti-Indian feeling in South Africa was directed towards the merchant class, these sentiments were…
ArticleYoung Communist League of South Africa (YCLSA)
The history of the Young Communist League (YCL) dates back to 1921, although the organisation observes 25 May 1922 as the date of its official formation…
Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960
For many years there was tension within the African National Congress (ANC) between those with different ideological and theoretical views. One of these views…
PlaceTownship Tours of Cape Town
South Africa is a country famous for its diverse cultures. Cape Town is a particularly cosmopolitan city, with people from all walks of life brushing shoulders…
The Durban Strikes of 1973 and the End of a Cycle of Struggle by Mondli Hlatshwayo
This paper was submitted to the 1973 Durban Strikes Celebrating 50 Years Conference The Durban strikes of 1973, and the subsequent struggles waged by…
Trade unions and Popular Resistance in the 1980s and New Alliances and the Different Unions Traditions by Kaizer Thibedi
This paper was submitted to the 1973 Durban Strikes Celebrating 50 Years Conference THE BRIEF: TRADE UNIONS AND POPULAR RESISTANCE IN THE 1980S AND NEW…
The British Government, The Trade Union Congress, and Black South African Trade Unionism, 1973 to 1994 by Dan Feather
This paper was submitted to the 1973 Durban Strikes Celebrating 50 Years Conference In the aftermath of the Durban Strikes (1973) the British Trade Union…
Gigs, hustles and hope: work for young South Africans beyond the wage by Adam Cooper and Bernard Dubbeld
This paper was submitted to the 1973 Durban Strikes Celebrating 50 Years Conference The twenty-first century has shattered the idea that countries across…
PlaceComrades Marathon, Durban-Pietermaritzburg
The Comrades Marathon was established in 1921. This ultramarathon is 90km. It is run annually, alternating between having the starting point in Durban one Year…
PlaceSongimvelo Game Reserve, an Early Archaeological Site
The Songimvelo Game Reserve is located South of Barberton in the South-Eastern part of the Mpumalanga Province on the South African-Swaziland Border. The…
PlacePietermaritzburg, Umgungundlovu District Municipality
Pietermaritzburg is the Capital and second-largest City, in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and named after two leaders of…
Ruth First Untold by Jerry Saena
This article was written by Jerry Saena and forms part of the SAHO and Southern Methodist University partnership project Abstract: Ruth Heloise First was a…
Chapter 2 - The lack of a workers’ party
From: Lessons of the 1950s By Richard Monroe, March-May 1984 Chapter 2 - The lack of a workers' party The industrialisation of South Africa brought into exÂ…
The Centenary Celebration of the February Revolution 8-12 March 2017
In 1917 ordinary workers and rank and file soldiers overthrew the Tsarist autocracy that had been in power in Russia since the late 1400s. This became known as…
Why protect worker’s rights?
The exploitation of workers was a feature of life in South Africa for decades. Apartheid thrived on cheap labour: workers had to contend with the migrant…
ArticleHitler’s racial state in Germany
Eugenics and Genocide in Nazi Germany Summary The Holocaust was a form of genocide, which refers to the intentional, systematic extermination of six million…
ArticleStates of Emergency in South Africa: the 1960s and 1980s
One of the key instruments used by the apartheid government to neutralise political dissent was the State of Emergency (SOE). In periods when the government…
ArticleRole of Black people in the South African War
Introduction The South African War of 1899-1902 was essentially a 'White mans' war, fought to determine which white authority had real power in South Africa…
Biography of Michael Scott from an email contribution by Lorna Richmond, 25 November 2015
The Reverend Michael Scott was born on 30 July 1907 at Lowfield Heath Sussex, the youngest of three brothers. In 1911 his father, an Anglican priest, was…
PlaceGhana
Before March 1957 Ghana was called the Gold Coast. The Portuguese who came to Ghana in the 15th century found so much gold between the rivers Ankobra and the…
PlaceClermont, a Township of Durban
Clermont under the Apartheid days was a black middle income Township, in Durban. It is surrounded by Westville, Kloof, New Germany and Inanda in the distant…
EventThe birth of the Treatment Action Campaign
On 10 December 1998, International Human Rights Day, a group of about 15 people protested on the steps of St George's Cathedral in Cape Town to demand medical…
12. The pickled money-order receipt
From the book: A Documentary History of Indian South Africans edited by Surendra Bhana and Bridglal Pachai Indian immigrants sent money regularly to…
ArchiveA History of Botsotso by Allan Horwitz
One leg in another leg out tight me up strongly sewn visible mending back pocket trademark silver buttons attached not woven once twice or thrice die…
Document 93 S. B., “Unite Against Reaction and Oppression: United Front Against National Oppression and Fascism”, Umsebenzi, 23 May 1936
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 93 S. B., "Unite Against Reaction and…
Speech by President Mandela at the Chief Albert Luthuli Centenary Celebration, 25 April 1998, KwaDukuza
Bayede! Wena weNdlovu! Hlanga Lezwe! Siyakhuleka KwaDukuza emzini omkhulu; WeNdlovu ethe imuka;Babeyilandel' abakwaLanga; ibuyis' inhloko yadi'…
ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA TO MEMBERS OF THE SWISS-SOUTH AFRICAN ASSOCIATION Zurich, 2 September 1997
President of the Swiss-SA Association; Distinguished guests; Ladies and gentlemen, Our visit to Switzerland would have been incomplete without the…
Document 64 - Letter from the Workers’ Party of South Africa to the International Secretariat of the International Communist League (B-L), 1 July 1936
From: South Africa's Radical Tradition, a documentary history, Volume One 1907 - 1950, by Allison Drew Document 64 - Letter from the Workers' Party of South…