Africa South: Viewpoints, 1956-1961
Dublin Core
Title
Africa South: Viewpoints, 1956-1961
Description
This selection of essays comes from Africa South, a remarkable magazine which, for five years in
the early days of apartheid, presented a principled but non-partisan opposition to the National
Party government’s policies and practices. Africa South was unique in coupling its reportage of
South Africa with attention to the rest of Africa at a time when many colonies were attaining
independence from colonial rule. The essays speak to contemporary readers interested in issues
beyond nationalism, in globalisation, and to those interested in the historical trade and other
networks which crossed both the Atlantic and the Indian oceans, holding Africa at their centre.
The strongest common focus in the essays selected here is on people. As individuals and in
groups, people’s lives are central to all analyses of political, economic and legal developments.
Ronald Segal, the prescient founder-editor of Africa South, attracted as his contributors men and
women who could write with clarity and potent, youthful intensity – most of these writers would,
later in their careers, become famous in their own right. Some of the contributors in this collection
include Basil Davidson, Cyprian Ekwensi, Ruth First, Lionel Forman, Helen Joseph, Nelson
Mandela, Z.K. Matthews, Fatima Meer, Phyllis Ntantala, Alan Paton and Walter Sisulu.
the early days of apartheid, presented a principled but non-partisan opposition to the National
Party government’s policies and practices. Africa South was unique in coupling its reportage of
South Africa with attention to the rest of Africa at a time when many colonies were attaining
independence from colonial rule. The essays speak to contemporary readers interested in issues
beyond nationalism, in globalisation, and to those interested in the historical trade and other
networks which crossed both the Atlantic and the Indian oceans, holding Africa at their centre.
The strongest common focus in the essays selected here is on people. As individuals and in
groups, people’s lives are central to all analyses of political, economic and legal developments.
Ronald Segal, the prescient founder-editor of Africa South, attracted as his contributors men and
women who could write with clarity and potent, youthful intensity – most of these writers would,
later in their careers, become famous in their own right. Some of the contributors in this collection
include Basil Davidson, Cyprian Ekwensi, Ruth First, Lionel Forman, Helen Joseph, Nelson
Mandela, Z.K. Matthews, Fatima Meer, Phyllis Ntantala, Alan Paton and Walter Sisulu.
Creator
Corinne Sandwith and Margaret Daymond
Source
ccrri Seminar
Date
2011-02-15
Language
English
Type
MP3 recording
Files
Collection
Citation
Corinne Sandwith and Margaret Daymond, “Africa South: Viewpoints, 1956-1961,” ccrri Archive, accessed May 21, 2013, http://ccrri.ukzn.ac.za/archive/items/show/2683.