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BLACK VIEWPOINT
INTRODUCTION
EditorB.S. Biko (1972)
IT IS SIGNIFICANT that in a country peopled to the extent of 75%
by blacks and whose entireeconomic structure is supported and
maintained, willingly or unwillingly, mainly by blacks, we findvery
few publications that are directed at, manned by and produced by
black people.
Black Viewpoint is a happy addition by the Black Community
Programmes to all those publicationsthat are of great relevance to
the black people. Our relevance is meant to be in the sense that
wecommunicate to blacks things said by blacks in the various
situations in which they findthemselves in this country of ours. We
have felt and observed in the past, the existence of a greatvacuum
in our literary and newspaper world. So many things are said so
often us, about us and forus but very seldom by us.
This has created a dependency mood amongst us which has given
rise to the present tendency tolook at ourselves in terms of how we
are interpreted by the white press. In the process, a lot of ushave
forgotten that the values and attitudes of newspapers are governed
largely by the values andattitudes of both their readership and of
their financial supporters - who in the case of the whitepress in
South Africa, are whites. Therefore, when we read of a report of
any speech or incidentwhich focuses on blacks, we usually find it
accompanied by interpretative connotations in terms ofstress,
headlines, quotations and other journalistic nuances, that are
calculated to put the report ina particular setting for either
consumption or re-jection by the reader.
One must quickly add that the moral of the story is not that we
must therefore castigate whitesociety and its newspapers. Any group
of people who identify as a unit through shared interestsand
aspirations necessarily need to protect those interests they share.
The white press istherefore regarded by whites as doing a good
service when it sensitises its own community to the'dangers' of
Black Power. After all no white man is wanted outside the laager
when the rest of thewhite society is facing the illusionary swaart
gevaar that only exists in the minds of the guilt-stricken whites.
Perhaps only very few whites would not want to be in the
laager.
No, the real moral of the story therefore can only be that we
blacks must on our own developthose agencies that we need, and not
look up to unsympathetic and often hostile quarters to offerthese
to us.
In terms of this thinking, therefore, Black Viewpoint is meant
to protect and further the interests ofblack people. We do not
intend to venture beyond this. We shall not serve as an
exclusivemouth-piece for any particular section of the black
community but merely to pick up topics as theycome and as they are
dealt with by blacks in various situations.
In the present issue we focus attention on four addresses
delivered by blacks in differentsituations. By juxtaposing these
articles in this issue we hope to reflect the broad spectrum now
tobe found in our society both in terms of the different stresses
we lay in the definition of ourproblem - the white problem - and in
the mooted solutions that all four speakers touch briefly on.
We hope this will generate a good response amongst those who
read it.
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BLACK DEVELOPMENT
Njabulo Ndebele
Njabulo Ndebele is a final year B.A. student at the University
of Lesotho, Botswana andSwaziland. He is also the SRC President of
UBLS
I. THE PROBLEM
There are three kinds of socially significant groups in South
Africa. There is the ethnic group, theracial group and the broad
national group. The national group is the combination of the racial
andthe ethnic groups, that is to say, it is the national group
which, for purposes of internationalidentification, can also be
known as the people of South Africa, or simply as South Africans.
Theracial group, on the other hand, is a combination of ethnic
groups. Thus, the black racial group ismade up of Zulus, Basotho,
Pedis etc. and the white racial group is made up of Afrikaners,
Englishpeople, Portuguese etc. The national group, we shall note,
is fragmented by the institutionalisedracial conflicts, that is to
say in fact the national group is formed when the racial groups
begin tointeract. This means implicitly that the most important
agent for social dynamism is the interactionof the racial groups.
In other words, it is not the nation, in South Africa, which
matters, it is theracial groups. Indeed, there is no nation in
South Africa; a nation pre-supposes a voluntary andunified
political co-operation of all the social groups within a State.
However, on the level of simple human relations, at any
particular moment, any particularindividual in South Africa is
faced with three levels of socio-politico-economic conflicts. There
arethe conflicts he experiences within his own ethnic group; those
he experiences within his racialgroup, and those he experiences as
a member of a racially divided state. There is conflict withinand
between ethnic groups, and conflict within and between racial
groups. In these conflicts, theconflicts within any particular
group tend to be diminished whenever that group comes into
conflictwith another similar group. In any conflict, two or more
parties are both and at the same time,fighting against each other
for an objective which neither has. It may be that one party has
alreadyreached that objective, so that the losing party is engaged
in a constant effort to remove the victorfrom the coveted place. On
the other hand, the victor is engaged in an effort to maintain
hisposition. Thus, in matters of state politics, the victor can be
in a position to control his opponent ina conflict by force, if
necessary, in order to maintain his position.
There is a hierarchy of conflict in South Africa. The greatest
conflict is that between the races. Therace which is in power is
the white race; that which seeks the power it does not now have is
theblack race. The white races is able to control the black race,
by force if necessary, in order tomaintain its position of power.
The white race precludes the black race from participating
creativelyin the quest for industrial development and,
consequently, for political power. The white race-triesto make it
difficult for the black race to reach certain academic standards,
thus excluding the blackrace from the quest for intellectual and
ideological power. The white race seeks to prevent theblack race
from making any constructive and creative contribution to the black
race's own culturaldevelopment, by creating social conditions
unconducive to meaningful cultural expression, thusexcluding the
blacks from the quest for cultural power in a distinct cultural
identity. The white racetries to minimise the conflict within and
between its ethnic groups in order to maximise its efforts
todominate; it also tries to maximise the conflict within and
between the ethnic groups of theoppressed black race in order to
minimise the latter's resistance in the racial conflict. Thus by
suchmeans, the white race prevents the black race from attaining
political power. The whole socio-political framework in South
Africa is based on the preservation of the superior-inferior
relationshipbetween white and black, a relationship essential for
the maintenance of white domination.
The need for freedom is an essential and natural characteristic
of humanity. That is to say, there isno human being who can
willingly accept a status of political servitude. It is
self-evident therefore,that the white race in our country seeks to
perpetuate and unnatural condition. It is important,
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therefore, to realise that nature is on the side of the blacks.
It is important, furthermore, that theblacks cultivate and develop
a philosophy of nature and of life that will centre around the
conceptof human worth and human dignity for only when we value our
own selves do we find it necessaryto struggle for the preservation
and the assertion of that which is valuable in us.
A paper for the Symposium on CREATIVITY AND BLACK DEVELOPMENT
organised by theSouth African Students' Organisation (SA SO).
II. SOCIETY AND POLITICS
Politics is the quest for and the use of power; and society is
the interaction of various power-groups. This view of politics and
society is what I may describe as a functional view in terms of
ourhuman circumstances in this country. It is functional in the
sense that it is a necessary view to holdin the creation of a
practical attitude towards the assessment of our condition. We
blacks must sitdown to examine the various power-groups in our
midst, with a view to finding out which of thesegroups can be most
effective and relevant towards our necessary, and hence natural,
struggle fora more meaningful participation in the shaping of our
country's destiny.
It goes without saying, therefore, that there is a hierarchy of
power-groups in a political structure.But all these groups have one
thing in common - the desire to propagate a point of view whichmust
be acceptable to a great number of individuals. The highest
power-group is that which hasbeen granted the right and, at the
same time, the privilege to rule a people. In seeking the
greatestpower that man can ever wield, this group is conventionally
referred to as the political group orparty. There are other
power-groups which are normally referred to as social groups, that
is to say,smaller groups which by virtue of their existence,
natural necessity and interaction determine thenature of a
community of people i.e. cultural groups, educational groups,
religious groups,industrial groups, sports groups and others. An
important characteristic of these social groups isthat they may not
necessarily be in conflict with one another, for each seeks to
assert itself in itsown field of interest.
III. POWER-GROUP AMONG BLACKS (a) The Peasant and
Semi-Peasant
There are social divisions among the blacks, which are of a
universal nature. Such are thosewhich exist between rural and urban
blacks. The former, who in the history of many social andpolitical
revolutions have often been regarded as having the greatest
potential as an agent or asan instrument for the mobilisation of
human forces towards social, political and economic reforms,are
virtually a dormant group in South Africa. This group, whose
members are known as peasants,is mostly to be found in small rural
ethnic concentrations either in reserves or in the small
townsbordering the reserves. Where the towns are far from the
reserves but not very far from the bigtowns, the peasants of a
particular rural area may be made up of several ethnic groups
livingtogether and working for the same white farmer. The existence
of these people has more oftenthan not been an embarrassment to the
urban blacks whose relative social advancement hastended to make
them wish to forget their wretched past, constantly being brought
to life by thepeasant and his companion, the migrant labourer.
The peasants on the white farms have almost no political
consciousness. Their day is rigidlyscheduled according to some form
of compulsory routine. They have accepted, either consciouslyor
sub-consciously, the fact that they are not working for their own
betterment; rather, they areworking for a white master who seems to
have a right to benefit from their labours. They have nosocial
security. They do not own land. They can be driven away from the
farms almost at the whimof their white master. Even their very
survival is not as important as the survival of their master.Theirs
is the life of insignificance, of diseases, of ignorance. Their
whole personal orientation isgeared towards serving their master.
They are grateful that their master allows them to build
theirrusted zinc lean-to's half a mile away from the master's
mansion. They are human possessionswhich the white master does not
value.
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Indeed, he does not even value their labour, as such, for he
accepts their labour as much as heaccepts the fact of breathing.
You only value the process of breathing when your lungs are
introuble. Before then, your lungs are some aspect of yourself that
you seldom think of in your life.That is the extent to which human
beings have been reduced - mere insignificance.
Yet, in spite of all his apparent degradation, we would be wrong
to suppose that there is no vitalpart of the peasant's personality
which does not secretly abhor the degrading agent and theinhuman
physical conditions to which the agent subjects him. An intuitive
knowledge of naturaljustice tells the peasant that the life he is
leading is far from ideal; that he is insecure; that hewishes to
own property and work for his livelihood as any person proud of his
physical strength,would wish. However, to wish for something is an
indication that you do not have it at the momentof wishing. Thus,
the next step is to try to find ways and means of acquiring the
object of yourwishes. What, therefore, can the peasant do? Nothing.
It is a fact that on their own, they cannot domuch. They are
weakened, as a group, by ignorance; by lack of political awareness;
by immediateethnic differences which to them are still the
determinants of the basic conflicts in life. Thispeasant group is,
indeed, a good example of a power-group that has no actual power.
However,their potential power is immense indeed. It is this
potential power that should interest us, forindeed, real social and
political change, if it is to be a goal for all black people, can
only be realisedin the mobilisation of all possible human
resources.
Closely related to the peasant group, is a group that has become
semi-peasant and semi-urban.This is the group of migrant labourers,
most of whom work in the mines. A good number of thesecome from
neighbouring black countries. These migrant labourers suddenly find
themselvesuprooted from a rural life which they find uninspiring
when compared with the stories of aglamorous life in the big
cities. They come to the town and frequently mix with the urban
blacks.Again, the tendency of the urban blacks has been to look
down upon these labourers on accountof their untutored ways.
Having been in contact with the life of the towns, they have
some measure of political awareness.It is also important to realise
that when they get back to their homes, they come with an
enhancedsocial status. They become interpreters of the fast-moving
world outside. Some of them becomefairly literate. Thus, they
realise, with some articulation, that there is a lot they do not
have whichthe better members of their country, the white masters,
have. They can do more for themselvesthan their completely peasant
companions. We must realise, therefore, that this group can be
avery important agent for social change in the rural areas.
(b) The Urban Blacks
The urban blacks are the most socio-politically aware among the
black groups. This is becausethe urban black is more advanced
socially, politically, economically, educationally and in manyother
ways that make life in the urban areas supposedly more meaningful.
That is one of theunexpressed, main political reasons behind the
policy of the Bantustans. The urban blacks,because they know too
much (much more than the lower classes among the whites) must
bedivided into ethnic groups and sent to their homelands. There,
they shall become a semi-peasantgroup, because basically the
homelands are intended to be labour reservoirs of migrant
labourers.In the homelands, they can be very easy to control; easy
to convince that they are inferior, andeasy to convince that they
have political power when in actual fact that political power is
only thefreedom to organise effectively, through a government
machinery, migrant labour, as some blackneighbouring countries are
doing. The black governments in the homelands are going to do
thewhite man's dirty job.
However, in his relative advancement, the urban black still
feels backward in relation to his whitecounterpart. He works in the
same factory as the white worker; diagnoses the same diseases
withthe white doctor after having written the same examination;
worships the same God as the white
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churchgoer and generally does many other jobs which the whites
do, yet, in a state which, byvirtue of his colour, discriminates
against him, he is unable to participate in any
decision-makingprocesses affecting him and his work.
He has repeatedly compared his skills with those of his white
counterpart and has not found hisskills wanting. There are two
social evils which beset the life of the urban black. He
suffersprimarily because of the black colour of his skin; and
secondarily as a member of the exploitedclass in a capitalist
economy.
One of the most shattering characteristics of an advanced
capitalist economy is that it tends to beextremely acquisitive.
People want to lay their hands on almost anything that is brought
to theirnotice by cunning advertisements. The urban blacks have
joined this acquisitive world, and the lifeof this world is
characterised by extreme alienation from oneself. Each person tends
to move awayfrom himself in a bid to acquire things external to his
own person. Thus, the acquisition and thehoarding of material
things is responsible for a proportional rise in social status.
That is to say,people do not matter; it is things that matter.
Things make people; people no longer make things,that is to say,
people no longer approach work and matter with a creative bent,
because theirhandling of matter is no longer a means of
self-expression, it is now a barren conformity to animpersonal
acquisitive norm. An acquisitive society is also characterised by
its purposelessness.There is no intrinsic purpose behind this blind
acquisition of material things; indeed, acquisition isan end in
itself. That is why after having acquired out of conformity, one
has no value for thatwhich one has acquired, because it has no
intrinsic value for one.
A casual and brief look at the history of racism in South Africa
shows that the early white settlerswere sincere in their belief in
the inferiority of the black man. They were driven by
deep-seatedreligious beliefs. Now, it is no longer that way. There
are very few whites now religiouslycommitted. Let us not be
deceived, the Afrikaner is no longer as deeply religious as he was
in thenineteenth century. Today, he has tasted of the material
fruits of modern society and is determinedto enjoy them for as long
as he can. The effect of religion is only powerful immediately
after humanappeals to it have been successful. After that, that
influence and power wane with each passinggeneration. That is why
today, the Afrikaner speaks of ideologies, because an ideology is
arational product of the mind.
That is why he now speaks of 'youth preparedness', because he
cannot now rely on irrational andmystical religious appeals. The
capitalist society has removed all the mysticism and seeks to
beenjoyed on its own terms - rationality and indoctrination. That
is why rational justifications forapartheid only succeed in being
feeble. The true foundations of apartheid are irrational and
thatirrationality has now disappeared. Indeed, the effect of
apartheid today lies in the statute books -laws long written, and
laws being written. The latest laws are now written with a view to
the benefitof the economy and not of religion.
This fact leads us to a very important conclusion. We have seen
how a fast-moving capitalisteconomy advances with a proportional
increase in alienation. The white South African does notknow
himself; he knows only that he is white, but of the collective
humanity of whites he has avague knowledge because they have lost
it. The capitalist society has had its toll of self-alienation;and
the laws passed to the capitalist's benefit have helped him along
by providing him with themaximum opportunity for hoarding wealth.
The black person has ceased to be just a person who isblack, he has
now become a vital tool in the hoarding race; the acquisitive
marathon race. Theblack person has been reduced to a thing. There
is no difference between the machine and theblack person. The money
he earns is the oil that serves to keep him running. The blacks
havebeen relegated to a vague generality in terms of human
dimensions, and to a specific generality interms of exploitative
and quantitative economic productivity. They have been reduced to a
mereracial concept of labour by all the sections of the white
community. Blacks are known as: labour inthe factory; labour in the
mines; anonymous labour in the essential services; labour in the
Kitchen.'Labour' and 'black person' in South Africa are synonymous.
In changing such concepts about
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them, the blacks can cripple the evil reality such concepts
serve. They must realise that the whitescannot help but acquire,
and in doing so, these whites may be ignorant of the injustices
theyperpetrate, having been rendered feeling less by the blind urge
to acquire. The blacks must asserttheir human dignity and rebel
against an institution which relegates them to the status of
things.
By what has just been said, it should not be understood that the
implication made is that there areno racial conflicts. Among the
whites, the fanaticism about race has simply watered down
tonegative attitudes springing from a self-inflicted ignorance.
That is why apartheid has all in allbecome 'petty'. Apartheid is no
longer a pseudo-ideology; it has become an economic principle.This
is an important development for the black person. It means that the
black man must becareful of concentrating on the racial struggle,
to the detriment of the economic struggle, becausethe latter may
have become more important than the former. The whites continue to
makedeclarations about white superiority and Western Civilisation.
These declarations seemingly seekto underline racial conflicts;
they are in essence intended to hoodwink the black man into
believingthat his only problem is the racial one. This is clearly
brought out by the liberal elements amongthe whites. The liberal
cry against the oppression of the black man is essentially ethical.
They donot want a politically free black man, they simply want a
happy labour force. They have publiclydeclared that the happier the
blacks, the more they can produce economically. To the liberal,
theblack person is still a thing, only the thing must be given more
oil to function with better efficiency.Let us look closely now, at
the urban blacks.
The black person has in the past tended to demonstrate to the
whites that he was also capable ofbeing a professor, an engineer, a
businessman, a technician and other highly professionalpersons. So
his whole personal orientation became geared towards this personal
display. Little didhe realise that in trying to prove himself he
was doing so not on his own terms, but on the terms ofthe whites.
He had to prove himself within standards of life which had in
themselves the capacityto oppress him, not within the standards of
his own indigenous civilisation. Thus today he is stillcrying for
education, sacrificing for it to the extent of starvation because
the game of personaldisplay is still being played. There is a vague
notion of what education is, and what it is for. Wehave all heard
at some stage in our life the distraught old lady saying: My child,
what can we do inthis world without education? This question is
still being asked. But it is the wrong question. Thecorrect
question should be: When we have education, what do we do with
it?
What is happening now is that the blacks acquire education with
only a vague aim for itsutilisation. The real shocking tragedy
comes when the black man realises that even with hiseducation, he
is still not really accepted by whites. He is still given lower
wages; he cannot dosome jobs because of job reservations.
This struggle for education created social problems within the
urban black population. Those whostruggled for this education for
personal display tended, psychologically, to dissociate
themselvesfrom their ignorant lot. In this way a black middle
class, the darlings of the white liberals, wasformed, that is to
say, class divisions were formed among the blacks. Some of the
members of thisclass due to their political perspicacity decided to
seek the political kingdom on behalf of theirpeople. This group
reigned during the time when the teacher and the priest were highly
respectedmembers of the black community. Because they brought
themselves close to the people, theirpolitical influence lay in the
fact that they were the few whom the people could present to the
worldas symbols of success. The influence of this group reached
both its zenith and its downfall atSharpeville. Sharpeville
indicated that the intelligentsia had failed. At that time, the
factory workerwas just beginning to earn more than the priest and
the teacher. The ordinary, uneducated mancould buy a car and even
run a business. This new economic power, insignificant though it
was,gave the ordinary man confidence and an increased
self-reliance. But it was a self-reliance thathad no political
direction. It was a self-reliance commanded more by a mere instinct
for survival.When, under oppressive conditions, the group has
failed, each person goes at it alone. Thus, anycollective racial
feeling against the whites was greatly diminished, because each
person felt hewas suffering as an individual.
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When the struggle seemed to be that of individuals, the decadent
values so typical of capitalisteconomies set in. When there is
excessive individuality, objective morality ceases to have
anymeaning at all. Rapidly, the blacks were absorbed into the
stream of acquisitiveness. The moraleffect this had on the social
life of the blacks was phenomenal. The appeal of the mass
mediabecame irresistible. Black people began taking to fashions;
buying cars, generally developing acompulsive urge to seek
entertainment. Thus their lives began to revolve around money and
theaccumulation of wealth. How else do you explain the actions of a
man who buys a pair of shoesworth about thirty rands, when his
family is starving? It is the same with liquor, where the
moreexpensive brands are preferred.
(i) The Black Middle ClassThis class was referred to earlier on
as the darlings of the white liberals. It is made up of
doctors,businessmen, lawyers, journalists, and other professional
people. Most of them have becomeobsessed with capitalist values.
They have the shared characteristic of indulging in the
exploitationof their own people. This is because, although they are
politically aware, they have no politicalcommitment. There is also
the added vice of individuality. Because Africans can own no land
inthe urban areas, the white liberals were heard to speak on behalf
of this black middle class. It wasargued that if they were given
land, hence security, they would work for the maintenance of lawand
order. This invariably means that they would assist in the
oppression of the blacks. Thewomenfolk of this class have formed
ineffective social groups such as Women's Leagues wheretable
manners, recipes, and darning methods are discussed. The
journalists are worse. There isno black press in South Africa. The
few black papers are white-owned. It follows, therefore, thattheir
editorial policies as decided by the whites are geared towards
financial gains, and the blackeditors seem to agree to be used as
direct instruments for the exploitation of their own people.
Thestrategy of this press is to make feeble attacks on apartheid as
an indication to blacks that it is ontheir side. An indication that
they are not interested in the political education of the blacks is
thespace they give to gory murders, rapes, sports, adultery and
other sensational events. They justifytheir actions by making false
claims that blacks are keenly interested in such things.
The black middle class is also characterised by a general lack
of creative imagination. Thereseems to be endless imitation and
very little innovation. Scientists will complain about a lack
ofresearch facilities - what is there to prevent them from building
a small back-yard laboratory?Similarly teachers will complain about
a lack of teaching aids - what is there to prevent them frommaking
some? Accomplished musicians will continue playing classicial music
and American Jazzwithout researching or experimenting with a wealth
of musical forms and rhythms around them.There is a general
frustration from self-pity which does not seem to struggle to find
outlets. This isa group that should be in the forefront of a black
renaissance in South Africa. This class mustwake up and review its
position in the black community. It should come nearer to the
ordinaryworkers for it is the latter who can give them a genuine
support towards the realisation of healthydreams, and not the white
liberals.
(ii) The WorkersThe workers are by far the greatest number of
urban dwellers. Like the peasants, the urbanworkers have a great
potential for effecting social change; but they have had no
effectiveleadership. But unlike their rural companions, the workers
are to some extent conscious of theirpolitical position, even if
their dissatisfaction is only feebly and vaguely expressed. The
workersare very active in their urban social setting. They have
shown great initiative and creativity. Fromthem we get mbaqanga
musicians, actors, beauty queens, soccerites, soul musicians,
gangsters.The middle class seldom, if ever, takes the challenge
that the creativity of the workers present.The middle class never
develops on the crude initiative of the workers precisely because
itdespises the workers' efforts. They forget that the mainsprings
of a true cultural identity come frombelow.
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It has been mentioned that the workers lack effective
leadership. Like most workers throughout theworld, the black urban
workers are caught up in the webs of a socio-political environment
theycannot fully comprehend. It is the educated middle class who
can explain to the workers theworkings of the system they live in,
in order to channel this vast wealth of initiative towards
thedestruction of the system. There is a group in black urban
society which can be regarded as asub-group of the workers.
(iii) The Black Religious SectsThere are more than three
thousand religious groups in South Africa. A number of theories
havebeen advanced to account for this occurrence. The generally
accepted theory is that becauseblack people could not hope to
participate legitimately in the exercise of national
politicalexpression, they sought this expression in religion. Most
of these groups broke away from themain white-dominated
denominations.
(iv) The Basis for a Black Socio-Political ChangeWe have seen
what I consider the most important groups in the black community
and we havenoticed that under over-bearing oppressive
socio-political conditions, the more aware, by virtue oftheir
education, tend towards a frustrated and apathetic acceptance of
the situation, whereas theless aware show a great zest for life.
Society cannot change significantly unless the crude initiativeand
creativity of the less aware are crystallized into comprehensive
gems of thought by theeducated. If this does not happen, society as
a whole lives by intuitions, and intuitions have neverbeen clear
agents for purposeful collective and effective action.
(a) The Blacks and the Philosophy of Life
Life is there to be lived, and lived fully. To live life fully
means putting into practice as far aspossible the life of the
rational imagination. An essential characteristic of the
imagination is that itvaries in direct proportion to the
availability of physical circumstances conducive to emotional
self-expression. The emotional and spiritual states of our being
enlist the assistance and co-operationof the mind towards their
expression. It is the mind that examines physical possibilities
ofemotional expression. If the mind cannot manipulate physical
reality, imaginative reality soars togreat heights. If the latter
does not find physical expression frustration sets in. Frustration
can bepassive and it can be active. The former is that which seeks
no outlet; it simply forces the victiminto a world of dreams only.
Active frustration searches for outlets for relief. It enlists
anotherfaculty of the human being - the will. Active frustration,
however, puts great reliability on therational faculty. The mind is
forced and pressurised into seeking practical solutions.
We can see, therefore, that the essential duality of mind and
matter is an ever-present reality. Themind seeks to manipulate
matter to the benefit of a third human dimension - man's spiritual
beingwhich is the seat of morality. While nature tends to be
arranged in a dialectical pattern, it is alsotrue that in the
dialectical opposition between good and evil, man tends to wish for
theperpetuation of the good.
If man tends towards this desire, then it is only because nature
wills it so. The spiritual being inman determines the good to be
pursued. Thus, when man handles matter, he does so with theaim of
doing something good with it. Having considered these factors very
briefly we can see thatwithout man, matter is valueless; and
without matter, man has nothing with which to expresshimself. The
purpose of man is self-expression, in the manipulation of matter.
When man hastransformed matter into an object of inner expression,
he is magnified and made valuable becausehe has created something
of value. The aim of society therefore is to create an order in
whichindividuals can create, and politics is nothing but the quest
for the power to create maximumopportunity for man to create. Thus
politics, properly conceived, is also a creative occupation.
Thecreation of society, for the purposes mentioned, is a collective
activity, that is to say society is forman. Any society will tend
to develop a culture peculiar to it. Thus, culture, in its
broadestmeaning, is a shared characteristic among members of a
particular society of tending to seek self-
-
expression in a defined pattern of activities. But there is such
a thing as universal culture, such asthe world objective knowledge,
science, mathematics, technology etc. These are not the monopolyof
any one society; it is simply that some societies acquired them
before others.
The black man must begin to see life, his life in particular, in
terms of the above thesis. There arecertain basic moral tenets
which are essential prerequisites in the quest for a creative
society. Theblack man must believe that it is both good and right
for him, so long deprived of human worth, toseek the freedom to
give ex-pression to his humanity; he must believe that it is both
good and rightfor him, so long degraded, to reassert his human
dignity, he must believe that it is good and rightfor all citizens
of South Africa to share equally in the creation of the means of
self-expression; hemust believe that it is both good and right to
believe that he holds the right view because it is not inconflict
with universal objective morality; he must believe that a system
that relegates humans tothe status of feelingless things is both
wrong and evil not only because it degrades man, but alsobecause it
desecrates those values and beliefs which man holds most dear. (We
cannot talk aboutman without in the same breath talking about the
purpose of his life as is indicated by his values).The black man
must believe that it is both good and right that if he lets such a
system continue todegrade him, he is contributing to the
desecration of his own beliefs; he must believe that it is bothgood
and right that human beings are more than just labour entities;
that the black man's mind andbeing, if given free expression, can
create great works of art; great music; great philosophicalthought;
great scientific contributions all of which can make South Africa a
great country. If theblack man can see himself as such, he has
already begun the journey towards freedom; he hasbegun to turn the
heaven of his thoughts and beliefs into a physical reality on
earth, and in SouthAfrica.
(b) The Blacks and Indigenous Culture
Culture includes customs, traditions and beliefs. But customs
and traditions are man-made,therefore they can be changed according
to whether man continues to find value in them. Nosooner has man
created something than he either wants to improve on what he has
made orcreate something else. Culture therefore is essentially
dynamic. That is why the blacks must setabout destroying the old
and static customs and traditions that have over the past decades
madeAfrica the world's human zoo and museum of human evolution.
When customs no longer cater forthe proper develop-ment of adequate
human expression, they should be removed. Almost all theso-called
tribal customs must be destroyed, because they cannot even do so
little as to help theblack man get food for the day.
(c) The Blacks and Art
Today, the black man plays music with new musical instruments;
he uses paints and the chisel,and he writes. The black man must use
new instruments without shame, for science andtechnology are the
rightful inheritance of all men on earth. But the use to which the
blacks putthese things is their peculiarity. The blacks can develop
their own universal standards of artisticexcellence. They must
ignore the white critic who, in reviewing a black art exhibition,
says theblack artist has not progressed beyond the township themes.
Such critics do not appreciate theparadox in the fact that there is
universality in parochiality. Black music must become
morereflective. The present state of music is chaotic.
Mbaqanga cannot make one think seriously about life: the same
applies to soul music as it isplayed by South African blacks. Black
musicians must study the kind of music we have andimprove on it.
Drama, that great art form of human expression, is still very poor.
It portrays thetrivial aspirations of frustrated people without
making the people want to outlive such trivialities.The blacks must
ignore the white critic who says that drama is not a black art
form. Drama is auniversal art form, and the black playwright must
develop on the dramatic events peculiar to hisenvironment. The
blacks must ignore the frustrated black journalist who says that
South Africanblacks must win the political kingdom first before
they begin to create artistic works of any
-
meaning and merit. Indeed, it is the great art works that
inspire a bondaged people towardsseeking freedom. An imaginative
exploration of the miserable human conditions in which peoplelive,
touches the fibre of revolt in them; the fibre that seeks to
reassert human dignity. Indeed, anintellectual awakening is a vital
prerequisite to any significant social change.
(d) The Blacks and Religion
Religion is a very important and highly effective form of social
control. A wrong religion caninfluence people towards wrong and
irrelevant values and aspirations. We have seen how religionhas
seemingly been used as a substitute for political expression. In
being thus, religion in theblack community has become barren,
because it has no intellectual content to it. Thus, the manysects
we see are a perpetuation of bondage. The blacks must obliterate
all these sects. On theother hand, the blacks must turn their backs
on all the Western Churches; they have been shorn ofall emotional
content. A genuine religion will spring out of the blacks' own
circumstances, just as agenuine philosophy of life should. It
should be a religion that will find God through man; and notman
through God. Man must understand himself first before he can relate
himself to God. Areligion of today must be like a true work of art:
it must rationally centre in man and yet be rootedin an
inexplicable mystery, the appeal of which is emotional. Religion is
man-made, and because itis man-made it is also subject to the
forces of change. A strong religion is one which, over theages, has
continued to be an accepted determinant of social morality. If and
when it failssomething else must be devised to keep society's
confidence in accepted moral codes.
We have looked at the various aspects of the socio-political
situation of the black community inSouth Africa. It is now for the
black man to begin to work. It is work that involves a whole
humanre-orientation. The blacks must awaken intellectually,
spiritually, socially, morally, culturally and inmany other ways
that make life worth living. If the whites do not want to change
their attitudes, letthe blacks advance and leave them behind; and
when they have been left behind, let them bewaited for on the day
they realise the value of change. The important thing to realise is
that whatthe blacks are striving for is more valuable than racial
hatred. The blacks must know what theywant when they cry for
freedom. They should not be put in the situation whereby when they
getthis freedom they do not know what to do with it. The struggle
is more than a racial one; it is also ahuman one; a human struggle
involves development in all human activities that are the marks
oftrue civilisation.
THE NEW DAY
C.M.C. Ndamse
C.M.C. Ndamse is a distinguished educationist and former
lecturer at the University of Fort Hare.
PRINCE BISMARCK once said that one-third of German university
students broke down fromoverwork, another third broke down from
dissipation, while the other third ruled Germany, I do notknow
which third of the student body is here tonight, but I am confident
that I am talking to thefuture rulers of this country, and also of
the free countries who may have come to this centre offreedom.
It is my belief that this institution is not only interested in
turning out mere corporation lawyers,skilled accountans or
entomologists. What it is interested in, and this I hope is true of
everyuniversity, is in turning out citizens of the world, men who
comprehend the difficult, sensitive tasksthat lie before them as
free men and women, men who are willing to commit their energies to
theadvancement of a free society. That is why you are here.
Dr Brookes is still alive. My remarks on and references to him
must naturally be limited. Here wehave a statesman who eloquently
proved the difference between a statesman and a politician.
Astatesman thinks and prepares for the next generation. The
politician thinks and prepares for the
-
next general election. Here we have a politician who has
eschewed mud-slinging, and alwaysfought with clean hands. Here we
have an educationist whose name has been a password fromgeneration
to generation. He is one of the most distinguished scholars in
South Africa, who doesnot believe that knowledge is merely for
study, but that it is also for the market place. We aretalking
about Brookes the Christian whose deeds and activities are a
testimony to the soldiers ofthe Cross. But above all we are talking
about Brookes the man. I shall not be so naive as tosuggest a
fitting epitaph for him when he reports for higher service, but I
do suggest that when hegets to the pearly gates of heaven and
Gabriel and Michael demand an account of his activities,the answer
should be straight and simple I am Brookes'. Believe me, the gates
will open on theirown accord.
That is why, Mr. President, your invitation was accepted with
trepidation. And yet to stand beforeyou I count as a priceless
privilege. To stand before you as a Dr E.H. Brookes lecturer means
tolink arms with those men who have previously demarcated, at your
request, the irreducible line ofacademic freedom. This is a
momentous task, to be assumed with all humility, and demands
fromeach of us a statement as to where he stands and who he is. It
is my heartfelt delight to remindthis august gathering that my
fore-bears stalked these hills in days of yore. My
great-grandfatherfought side-by-side with Shaka, and when Disraeli
said: 'What! these Zulus, they beat our soldiersand convert our
bishops', he was referring to the prowess and valour of the Zulus
which has neverbeen surpassed. This is the day gone by. I am
looking for the new day. This city is named aftertwo Voortrekkers
leaders, reminding us of the carnage and bloodletting that took
place in theseparts. These vales and valleys were filled with
bellowing of beast and moaning of dying men.Human wreckage lay
scattered, and the birds of the air fed with glee to their
satisfaction. Thebullet penetrated man's skull, and the assegais
kissed man's heart. Man fought with alacrity tograb and usurp. Man
fought with valour and honour to hold. God's children were at one
another'sthroat. Hell was let loose. That day passed and gave way
to another day. Black hands joined tobuild the city. Time marched
on.
We are all immersed in the stream of time. As day succeeds day
and history bears us onward overits cataracts of change, we cannot
be certain where we are or where we are tending. I am surethat
Charlemagne's followers never thought of themselves as 'coming out
of the dark ages'. Themen of the Middle Ages didn't know their
period was giving way to the Renaissance. In fact, as faras they
were concerned, their age was not in the middle but right in front,
like every real degree ofdoubt about any attempt to appreciate
changing circumstances and to define historical epochs.One may
believe that a momentous period in human history has come to an
end. I may say that Ifully agree with Paul Sauer, when after
SharpeVille he said: The old book has closed and a newone has
begun'. So profound are the changes and upheavals. But I fully
realise that there isnothing more difficult to share and perhaps
easier to refute, than a particular angle of vision onhuman
affairs. Historical change and changes in the circumstances in and
of man have a way ofdeluding the observers.
It may be that the complexity of our times comes from the fact
that many processes are going onsimultaneously. There is a definite
setback in the political control exercised by the peoples ofWestern
Europe for centuries. The people of Western Europe committed the
fatal mistake ofassociating political control with the 'white
colour'. The black world has been asserting its rightswith
ever-increasing determination. The Declaration of Human Rights
means more to the blacksthan many people realise or care to know.
The blacks are now aware of their numericalsuperiority. They have
watched with glee the struggle between the United States and Russia
- theColossus of Europe, in Smuts's words. They have evolved the
doctrine of non-alliance. They haveused the United Nations
Organisation to good advantage. There is above all the
dramaticphenomenon, the new discovery by the black peoples: Black
Consciousness. May I in passingsound this warning that wise men
ignore this new development at their own peril. Another processwas
a world-wide expansion of the technological and egalitarian
revolution which Western Europeset in motion - the West Europeans
have changed everything because as their dominion grew,they
invented and carried through the decisive modern revolutions based
on the drives of equality,
-
science, technology and fair play. The white man's
transformation affected everybody else. Theybegan, perhaps not
without cause, to think well of themselves. They forgot the
cardinal lesson.They are no exception. They foamed dry about their
civilising mission. Had they not rescuedpeoples from barbarism,
converted the heathen, whatever that meant, and made three blades
ofgrass grow where none grew before? They even claimed some special
endowment and privilegefor the colour of their skin. Western
civilisation and Christianity were synonymous. The convertedwere,
however, not allowed to discuss the ills of this world. Golden
seats awaited them in theworld to come.
This did not go on without being noticed. Cetwayo, the Zulu
King, expressed himself succinctly.Referring to the activities of
the white people, he said, 'First come missionary, then come
rum,then come traders, then come army'. But Cecil Rhodes expressed
himself more clearly, 'I wouldrather have more land than niggers'.
Conquest and power do not confer intrinsic value. That lies inMan's
being alone, the humanity he shares with all God's creatures. The
fact that the two worldwars were conducted by men of white skin
tells only that during that period, they had the edge instrength,
weaponry and new techniques. Indeed, if at time, to be in terms of
superiority, we wouldall be living in a well-ordered Utopia. Our
world is still largely what they made it to be. Theconfusion and
violence in which our planet is now immersed suggests that the
Europeans are notsupermen. They are men, and so are all the
in-habitants of this globe. Mankind, I believe, will havea special
chapter for the period in history when a leading nation in the west
dropped the hydrogenbomb on Hiroshima.
The new day we crave for replaces the old day. We choose to
forgive and forget the past. Let usclose the old books. Let us
search ourselves. Let us find out who the real lovers of our land
are.Let us be clear as to who the enemies of our land are. Where do
you place those who even inspite of themselves, are prepared to
spend and to be spent to improve race relations? Where doyou place
those who boast? May I crave for indulgence in my plea for the
consideration of theblack worker!!
The black people are forced to labour under circumstances which
are calculated not to inspirethem with love and respect for labour.
This constitutes a part of the reason why it is necessary
toemphasise the matter of industrial education as a means of giving
the black man the foundation ofa civilisation upon which he will
grow and prosper. Mere training of the hand without the culture
ofbrain and heart would mean little. The effort must be to make the
millions of blacks self-supporting,intelligent, economical and
valuable citizens as well as to bring about the proper relations
betweenthem and the white citizens among whom they will continue to
live. With proper preparation andwith sufficient foundation, the
black man possesses the elements out of which men of the
highestcharacter and usefulness can be developed.
Lessons shall be applied honestly, bravely, in laying the
foundation upon which the black man canstand in the future and make
himself a useful, honourable and desirable citizen, whether he
hashis residence in the urban areas or in the homelands. I am
black. I know the black man pretty well- him and his needs, his
failures and his success, his desires and the likelihood of their
fulfillment -I have studied the relations with our white
neighbours, and striven to find how these relations maybe more
conducive to the general peace and welfare of both the black man
and of the country atlarge.
I am not minimising the attempts that are being made. But the
truth must be given in no uncertainterms that these attempts are
too little, too slow, too niggardly and too grudgingly given.
The creation of nationalities and separate states within the
ambit of South Africa has reached thepoint of no return. We leave
this to time and the safe lap of history. Let me say, however, that
thethree million whites are bound to the twenty million blacks by
ties which neither can tear asundereven if they would. The most
intelligent in the University of Natal campus community has
hisintelligence darkened by the ignorance of a fellow citizen in
the backveld of KwaZulu. The most
-
wealthy in Park town would be more wealthy but for the poverty
of a fellow being in the shackles ofa Free State small dorp. The
most moral and religious men (in human terms) in a
theologicalseminary have their religion and morality modified by
the degradation of the man living in squalor.Therefore, when the
black man is ignorant, the white man is ignorant, when the black
man is poor,the white man is poor, when the black man is in rags,
the white man is in rags or at best, his soulis in rags. When the
black man is the victim of countless diseases, because of the
squalor andabject conditions under which he lives, the white man is
in danger for epidemics and germs defydivisions of colour and
creed. When the black man's crime-wave increases, the whole
nationcommits crime. For the white citizens of South Africa there
is no escape. They must help raise thecharacter of the civilisation
of the black man or theirs is lowered.
No member of the white community in any part of South Africa can
harm the weakest or meanestmember of the black race without the
proudest and the bluest blood of the nation being degraded.
It seems to me that there never was a time in the history of our
country when those interested ineducation in this audience should
the more earnestly consider to what extent the mere acquisitionof
the degree, the mere acquisition of a knowledge of literature and
science makes menproducers, lovers of labour, independent, honest,
unselfish and, above all, good.
Call education by whatever name you please, if it fails to bring
about these results among thepeople, it falls short of the highest
end. The science, the art, the literature that fails to reach
downand bring the humblest up to the enjoyment of the fullest
blessings of our land, is weak, no matterhow costly the building or
apparatus used, or how modern the methods of instruction
employed.The study of applied mathematics and statistics on poverty
and disease and illiteracy that does notresult in making men
conscientious in alleviating the lot and plight of their fellow-men
is faulty. Thestudy of art and social sciences that does not result
in making the strong less willing to oppressthe weak means
little.
How I wish that from the corridors and campus of such a
university to the humblest mud-hutprimary school among the kraals
of the Transkei wild coast, we could burn, as it were, into
thehearts and heads of all, that usefulness, that service to our
brother, is the supreme end ofeducation.
We have had quack ideas repeated ad nauseum that the black man
is an innocent child of naturewho needs the perpetual protection of
the white man. It has been asserted that education helpsthe black
man, and that education hurts him, that he is fast leaving the
rural areas and taking upwork and residence in white areas, and
that this justifies strict influx control measures. It has
beenasserted that education unfits the black man for work and that
education makes him more valuableas a labourer, that he is the
greatest criminal or thief and that he is our most law-abiding
citizen.
The black man has been told to acquaint himself with the modern
scientific methods in farming; inthe same breath he has been told
to perpetuate and cherish his custom and traditions. The blackman
has been told about diet and about the vitamins. He is told about
the traditional food and toplant and eat mealies to maintain
identity. The black man is told to love his mother tongue whichhe
learnt from his mother's lap and that mother tongue instruction or
medium in schools is the besteducational communication known and
yet he is told that to get a decent job he must proveproficiency in
English or Afrikaans or both.
In the midst of these conflicting opinions, it is hard to hit
upon the truth. But also in the midst of thisconfusion, there are a
few things of which I am certain - things which furnish a basis for
thoughtand action. I know that whether the blacks are inferior or
not inferior, whether they are growingbetter or worse, whether they
are valuable or valueless, a few years ago there were fewColoureds,
fewer Indians and not so many Africans and now these number
millions. I know thatwhether oppressed or free, the black people
have always been loyal to the South African flag, thatno school
house has been opened for them that has not been filled, that the
statements and
-
pronouncements issued by black leaders are as potent for weal or
woe as those from the wisestand most influential men in the
Republic. I know that wherever the black man's life touches the
lifeof the nation, it helps or hinders, that wherever the life of
the white race touches the black, itmakes it stronger or weaker. I
know that only a few centuries ago, soldiers and missionaries
alikefelt themselves crusaders to save the pagans, that the blacks
came out better Christians. Theblacks went to school with a foreign
language as medium of instruction, they came out speakingthe proud
Anglo-Saxon tongue. Today many blacks speak more idiomatic English
than manyAfrikaners.
They speak better Afrikaans than many English-speaking South
Africans. Indeed many blacks arethoroughly proficient in English,
Afrikaans and vernacular. A few years ago, the Colouredespecially
in the Western Cape was left to the fate of the slow paralysis of
the tot system. Thattoday they are a potential force admits of no
debate. A few years ago, the Indians came to SouthAfrica on
invitation. Under the blazing sun their sweat soaked the soil along
the Natal coast.
They would, it was thought, multiply with untold prolificacy,
fill the gutters and if it must needs be,they would be repatriated.
At the time South Africa did not know that these people had an
'easternsecret'. They have the ability to bear and endure. With
their indomitable spirit, they have movedfrom strength to strength,
defying 'ghetto laws' and paralysing restrictions. I am inviting
the'doubting Thomas' to accompany me to Grey Street. Indeed let him
open his radio set on Saturdayor Sunday morning and listen to the
wonderful music with an eastern setting. Much credit goes tothe
present government for its wisdom to see the need for change of
attitude.
The African tribesmen from all the corners of Southern Africa,
moved in ant-like formations to themines. From the bowels of the
earth, where many of them have died unwept and unsung theybrought
gold and diamonds, which precious stones have made South Africa the
white man's'haven' and the envy of many. For these humble and
innocent children of nature the habitat wasthe vermin-infested
compound or sack hovel. But I know, who does not, that their
descendants arethe commercial tycoons in Soweto. From the backyards
of garages and hovels the black musclescarry South Africa
unflinchingly. Yes, the hand and muscle of men and women happy in
distressand rich in poverty. The world has been twice faced with
devastating wars, and twice the blackman has answered the clarion
call to fight for king and country. The wreckage at the bottom of
thesea near France includes the pieces of the Mendi. The story is
told that as the ship was slowly andsurely sinking, a faint voice
was heard saying, 'Abantwana bam, Abantwana bam'. 'Oh, mychildren -
my children'! We have reason to believe that this cry was a
testimony of hope that themen had fought a good fight for a good
cause and better things awaited their children. In thesecond world
war the black hands waved knob-kieries and rusted assegais at
Marshall Goering'smechanised units. And day and night, the British
Broadcasting' Corporation, echoing thedeclaration of the Atlantic
Charter, beamed in constant refrains 'we fight for freedom'.On the
frontline the black man did all to save a white brother. At home
the wheels of progressrolled on and there is not a single attempt
to sabotage the war effort reported on the part of a blackman.
I submit it to the candid and sober judgment of all men, are not
a people capable of such a taste,such transformation, such
endurance, such long-suffering not worth recognising? We crave
forrecognition and not tolerance. We call upon South Africa to help
us to help them. One of theclarion calls we are called upon to make
is that our nation with might and main should open thefloodgates of
educational opportunities.
For this we need honest men who will face the stark realities of
the situation. There are thoseamong both black and white who assert
with a good deal of earnestness, that there is nodifference between
the white man and the black man. This sounds very pleasant and
tickles thefancy. But when the test of hard, cold logic is applied
to it, it must be acknowledged that there is adifference - not an
in-herent one, not a racial one, but a difference growing out of
unequalopportunities in the past and at present.
-
Of course these days it is common knowledge that there is no
inherent inferiority on the part of theblack man. Some years ago
the black man foamed dry trying to prove that he had as much
brainand intelligence as the white man. If I were provoked, I would
be inclined to say that under givencircumstances, the black child
has better brains than the white child.
Consider the prenatal care that is given to an average white
child, how the mother is fed, caredfor, and nursed. Consider the
care taken in a nursing home or hospital. Consider the nursing
thebaby is given. A balanced diet awaits the baby. Hygienic
conditions surround both mother andbaby.
On the other hand the black child is born of an ill-fed mother.
Often the black child is born in athatched rondavel kitchen filled
with smoke. At times the rondavel is infested with vermin.
Almostall the facilities and amenities taken for granted for the
white child are conspicuous by theirabsence. As he grows he hardly
has toys. There is no children's literature.
There is no radio. The black child and the white child go to
school. It has happened that thesehave found themselves on the
campus of Natal University. At some stage the two write the
sameexamination and obtain the same grade. The question may be
asked, if the conditions were thesame from the beginning, what
would be the position? The highest test of civilisation of any
nationis its willingness to extend a helping hand to the less
fortunate. A nation, like an individual, liftsitself up by lifting
others up. Surely no people ever had a greater chance to exhibit
the fortitudeand magnanimity than is now presented to the people of
South Africa. It requires little wisdom orstatesmanship to repress,
to crush out, to retard the hopes and aspirations of a people.
But the highest and most profound statesmanship is shown in
guiding and stimulating a people sothat every fibre in the body and
soul shall be made to contribute in the highest degree to
theusefulness and ability of the nation. It is along this line that
I pray God the thoughts and activitiesof this audience may be
guided. We must all recognise the world-wide fact that the black
manmust be led to see and feel that he must make every effort
possible in every way possible, tosecure the friendship, the
confidence, the co-operation of his white neighbour in South
Africa.However, I am aware that the white man has no respect for a
black man who does not act fromprinciple. In some way the white man
must be led to see that it is to his interest to turn his
attentionmore and more to the making of laws that will, in the
truest sense, elevate the black man. One ofthe greatest questions
which our youth must face in South Africa is the proper adjustment
of thenew relations of the races. It is a question which must be
faced calmly, quietly, dispassionatelyand the new day has dawned to
rise above party, above race, above colour, above sectionalism,into
the region of duty of man to man, of South African to South
African, of Christian to Christian.
The black people will fight for the maintenance of their
identity. Yet we should surely admit that weare one in this
country. The question of the highest citizenship and the complete
education of all,concerns all people in South Africa. When one race
is strong the other is strong. When one isweak, the other is
weak.
There is no power that can separate our destiny. Indignities and
petty practices which exist inmany places injure the white man and
inconvenience the black man. No race can wrong anotherrace, simply
because it has the power to do so, without being permanently
injured in its ownmorals. The black man can, as he has often done,
endure the temporary inconvenience, but theinjury to the white man
is permanent. It is for the white man to save himself from this
degradationthat I plead. If a white man insults a black man,
ill-treats him, despises him, it is the white man whois permanently
injured. Vexation of spirit comes to the black man discriminated
against or hurt, butdeath of morals - death of the soul - comes to
those responsible for discrimination.
-
In the economy of God there is but one standard by which an
individual can succeed. There is butone for a race. This country,
which we all love and for which we shall pay any price, for its
ownsake, expects that every race shall respect the dignity of
man.
During the next decade, the black man must continue passing
through the severe South Africancrucible. He is to be tested in his
patience, for his forbearance, his perseverance, his power toendure
-to withstand temptations, to economise, to acquire and use skill -
his ability to compete, tosucceed in commerce, to disregard the
superficial for the real, the appearance for the substance,to be
great and yet small, learned and yet simple, high and yet the
servant of all. This is thepassport to all that is best in the life
of our South Africa and the black man must possess it or bebarred
out. It is this discovery that has given birth to Black
Consciousness. Moreover it is with apeople as it is with an
individual. It must respect itself if it would win the respect of
others. Theremust be a certain amount of pride about a race. There
must be a great deal of faith on the part of arace in itself. An
individual cannot succeed unless he has about him a certain amount
of pride -enough pride to make him aspire to the highest and best
things in life. Wherever you find anindividual who is ashamed of
his race trying to get away from his race, apologising for being
amember of his race, then you find a weak individual. And such a
race is weak and vacillating. Theapostles of Black Consciousness
adhere to this and are prepared to pay any price to go it alone.
Iam not going to call upon liberals to shed tears, if they have
any.
Some of us are convinced that the sponsors of Black
Consciousness hate nobody and bear maliceto none. They have
discovered, and just in time, that they are 'children of the
universe no less thanthe trees and the stars; they have a right to
be here'. And we are all convinced that in working outhis own
destiny, while the main burden of activity must be with the black
man, he will need, as hehas done in the past, the help,
encouragement and guidance the strong can give the weak.
Thushelped, those of all races in South Africa will soon throw off
the shackles of racial and sectionalprejudice and rise above the
clouds of ignorance, narrowness and selfishness into
thatatmosphere, that pure sunshine, where it will be the highest
ambition to serve man, our brother,regardless of race or previous
condition. We should hear less nonsense about Dutchmen,Rooineks,
and Coolies and Kaffirs. We should realise that every man, woman
and child, no matterwhat colour or creed, is a vital component of a
tremendous nation-in-being, a momentousexperiment in history, of
which we are a part. As South Africans we are committed to the
arduoustask of building a great society, - not just a strong one,
not just a rich one, but a great society. Thisis a pact we make
with ourselves. We should remember that the bastion for South
Africa is not aparticular section of the population, indeed neither
is it an increased defence budget or moreinformation offices, as
necessary as these may be. The bastion for this country is the
great societyof great men and women dedicated to their mother-land
not by ties of master and servant, but bymutual respect. Let us
remember what Thomas Jefferson said, borrowing a vivid phrase from
anEnglish Revolutionary, ... 'the mass of mankind has not been born
with saddles on their backs, nora favoured few booted and spurred,
ready to ride them legitimately by the grace of God'.
The effect of discrimination on the human mind has an affinity
with the mental condition we callarrested development; an historian
whose task it is to record the deeds of the perpetrators
ofdiscrimination towards the blacks, finds himself embarrassed by
what he knows will be thecontemptuous astonishment of posterity. He
feels he is being invited to chronicle the mischief andsnivelling
of schoolboys who should be birched and sent to bed in eternal
oblivion. But they have aplace in history. It is a humiliation of
the Muse of History.
The new day has come for every lover of South Africa to set the
might of angered and resolutemanhood against the shame and peril of
discrimination. These perpetrators of discriminationwhose glee
taunts their victim as he is bundled out through the front door of
a restaurant, or isthrown headlong into the police van for failure
to produce a pass, do not represent the best amongthe whites in
South Africa. And I plead for the masterful sway of a righteous and
exalted publicsentiment that shall condemn discrimination to high
heaven. Let us remember that there is noescape through law of man
or God from the inevitable:
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The laws of changeless justice bind oppressor with oppressed.
And, close as sin and sufferingjoined, we march to fate'.
Mr President, let me say that millions of black hands will aid
you in pulling the load upward, or theywill pull against you the
load downwards. The blacks will constitute a fraction and more of
theignorance and crime in South Africa or a fraction of its
intelligence and progress. They shallcontribute to the business and
industrial prosperity of South Africa, or they shall prove a
veritablebody of death, stagnating, depressing, retarding every
effort to advance the body politic. TheUnited States and Russia
choose to make amends in space. We choose to make amends onmother
earth.
My friends, this is our task. It is not an easy one. At present
great gaps in culture, understanding,education and income hold the
races apart. It is not simply a question of white and black. It is
allround the world. The 'new day' may be too imperceptible for our
eyes. The atmosphere may bemore congenial than we imagine. Let me
remind the youth in this hall that the temptation, isnaturally to
want no change. Idealism ends with the attainment of a degree. It
is very comfortableto be at the top of a heap, to live in a clean
home with all the amenities, not filthy backyards; to seeyour
children grow up well fed, with adequate provision for education,
to have no experience ofhunger; to be literate and skilled, to know
nothing of human contempt.
Somebody has said that this lulls the conscience, dulls the mind
and narrows the heart. As RobertKennedy once said: 'For the
fortunate among us the danger is comfort; the temptation to follow
theeasy and familiar paths of personal ambition and financial
success so grandly spread before thosewho have the privilege of
education. But that is not the road that history has marked out for
us.There is a Chinese curse which says: 'May he live in interesting
times'. Like it or not we live ininteresting times. They are times
of danger and uncertainty, but they are also more open to
thecreative energy of men than any other time in history. And
everyone here will ultimately be judged- will ultimately judge
himself - on the effort he has contributed to building a new world
society andthe extent to which his ideals and goals have shaped
that effort'.
We are called to duty in good weather and in bad. Let us take
heart from the certainty that we areunited by hope and purpose. For
we know now that freedom is more than the rejection
ofdiscrimination, that prosperity is more than escape from want,
that good race relations is morethan the sharing of power. These
are, above all, the human adventures. They must have
meaning,conviction and purpose and because they do, the new day
calls us to a great new mission. Themission is to create a new
social order, founded on liberty, justice and fair play, in which
all menand women can share a better life for themselves and their
children.
So we are idealists. We are all visionaries. Let it not be said
of you and of me that we left idealsand visions to the past, nor
purpose and determination to our adversaries.
And we shall ever remember what Goethe once said:
The highest wisdom, the best that mankind ever knew, was the
realisation that he only earns hisfreedom and existence who daily
conquers them anew'.
Delivered at Edgar Brookes Academic and Human Freedom Lecture
for 1972 at University ofNatal, Pietermaritzburg, on Friday May
5th, 1972.
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KWA-ZULU DEVELOPMENT
Chief M.G. Buthelezi
Chief M.G. Buthelezi is the Chief Executive Councillor of the
KwaZulu Legislative Assembly.
In South Africa, this is one of those rare occasions where
people meet across the colour line notas masters and servants but
as fellow compatriot to communicate. This is not deny the fact that
Icame here as a representative of the underdogs of this land who
are the servants-class of SouthAfrica, and whether we like this or
not you represent the master-class of this land on whom mypeople
depend for a living.
It was suggested that I should in my short talk deal with The
Current Economic Situation and itAffects the Zulu Homeland. I must
say that with all due respect for this suggestion, I am
noeconomist. I will, however, do my best to present in as few words
as possible the picture as I see itfrom the point of view of a
black man in the street.
As a historian I will be excused of reading a bit of well-known
history of our land, because I believethat no one can never see
things in their proper perspective, save against the wider canvas
of thehistory of the land. This is regardless of whatever one wants
to look at, be it political issues,cultural or social problems.
This applies equally to our economic ills. As a layman I cannot
makepresentations that I can offer a diagnosis or even a hazard
guess at any cures for our economic illin KwaZulu.
However, being a representative of the patient, I can at least
describe the pains particularly thevery sharp ones around the tummy
which are so excruciatingly painfully! Even the doctor needsthis is
to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
As early as 1880 The Natal Witness disputed the suggestion that
Africans had any right toconsider Natal as their country: They are
here as immigrants on sufferance, and not as citizens'.This was
after the Zulu War, when even Zulu territory north of the Thukela
was fragmenteddeliberately in order 'to break the Zulu power once
and for all', in the words of Sir Bartle Frere andZulu Territory
was opened up by the conquerors for white occupation. This was not
peculiar toNatal, but happened throughout this southern-most point
of Africa.
My people were at first self-sufficient because there was enough
to eat and no problems ofpopulation explosion. This too was soon
brought to an end by the new conquerors who calledupon Chiefs to
supply young men to work on what was then known as Isibhalo. They
were in otherwords forced to sign contracts to come to places like
Johannesburg and Kimberley and otherindustrial areas to build the
white industrial empires that we see in full bloom in all the
metropolitanareas of South Africa. Taxation was one of the methods
used to force Africans to move into urbanareas to work.
The tragedy deepened when even in the urban areas my people
found themselves regarded astemporary sojourners who were there on
sufferance, only to minister to the reasonable wants ofwhites.
According to the 1852-1853 Commission Report it was recommended
that 'All kaffirsshould be ordered to go decently clothed. This
measure would at once tend to increase thenumber of labourers
because, as they would be obliged to work to procure the means of
buyingclothing, it would also add to the general revenue of the
Colony through Customs Duties'.
Coming to the question of the so-called Homelands, as early as
1849 Earl Grey agreed that itwould be 'difficult or impossible' to
assign to Africans reserves of such a size that they couldcontinue
to be economically self-sufficient. He added that it was desirable
that Africans should 'beplaced in circumstances in which they
should find regular industry necessary for their subsistence'1
.
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Not all Africans could be accommodated on the reserves, and the
remainder continued to occupycrown lands and colonist owned farms.
Africans ultimately spilled over into the white farms assquatters.
The reserves were made up of the worst farming lands in the Colony.
According to G.R.Peppercorne, most of the land in the Impofana
reserve is 'as worthless as the sands of Arabia' (2).Only thirty
percent of KwaZulu is arable land.
According to Brookes and Hurwitz there was no increase in land
provision for Africans between1864 and 1913 (3). The promises made
by the Hertzog Government under the Native Trust andLand Act of
1936 for an additional quota of land to my people and other ethnic
groups was arecognition of this fact. Little wonder that whereas
other people improve with times, my peoplehave sunk lower and lower
into poverty over the years because they are caught between
twodevils.
When the Zulu Territorial Authority was inaugurated in 1970 I
made it clear that withoutconsolidation of land, the present
Government's policy would not make any sense. There hasbeen very
little done or said about this aspect of government policy until
last year when the PrimeMinister promised to consolidate the Zulu
Homeland only to the extent of the 1936 land quota. Ipointed out to
him then that consolidating in terms of that quota could hardly be
adequate in termsof setting us up as a separate independent State
in terms of his government's policy.
What happened last week has been merely confirmation of what the
Prime Minister said last yearand also a few weeks ago in
Parliament. I refer here to the so-called draft map for
theconsolidation of KwaZulu. This is a question which is crucial to
the whole exercise of setting upKwaZulu as a country and on it
hangs the issue of whether we can ever be economically viable
ornot. I wish also to submit that the whole question of our
economic potential depends on it.
Earlier this year I opened a conference at the University of
Natal's Institute for Social Research onTowards Comprehensive
Development in Zululand'. This Conference was interesting in so far
aswe did not try to find cures for KwaZulu's economic ills, but
managed to assess the complexity ofKwaZulu's economic ills. We
found that there are two issues closely interlinked, the
problemsrelevant to the development of the Zulu homeland
territories, on the one hand, and those relevantto the development
of the Zulu people on the other. Although the two issues are
closelyinterlinked, the problems facing the development of the Zulu
people, the AmaZulu, relate not onlyto the Zulu Homeland Areas, but
more directly to the entire economic, social and political
structureof South Africa. The development of the AmaZulu (or that
of other blacks for that matter) is muchmore closely interlinked
with change and progress in the common economy and common area
ofSouth Africa, than is the development of KwaZulu (4).
To me the most important area which concerns all of us is that
of the development of my people.At present we have hardly any
employment opportunities for the KwaZulu citizens, no wonder wehave
only about a third of citizens in KwaZulu at any time. More than
sixty percent of our able-bodied males are away most of the
time.
We have at present no industrial growth points except Sithebe
which has few Zulus at present,who are paid very low wages. The
specious argument used by the Bantu Investment Corporationis that
although Sithebe has low wage levels and ample supply of labour on
the credit side, therelatively low level of training is ranking
high on the debit side and it is, therefore, not strange tofind
that an unskilled worker is being paid a weekly wage of R 5 to R7.
The Bantu InvestmentCorporation further state that they would
prefer wage levels comparable with those in themetropolitan areas
but realise that it is far better at this stage of development in
KwaZulu to havesay 100 Zulus employed at R7 a week than to be able
to create say only 10 employmentopportunities at R12 per week. It
must also be remembered that the cost of living in
metro-politanareas is very much higher than in the vicinity of
Sithebe (5).
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The argument on the cost of living being lower in rural areas is
a partial truth, because people canonly live in accordance with
their means of livelihood. And in any case this is also on account
ofpoverty and since we have no cash crops except sugar cane in some
parts of KwaZulu, we have acash economy and it is a remittance
economy, as families depend entirely on cash from
theirbread-winners, who must earn wages elsewhere. The measuring
rod as far as wages areconcerned is the poverty datum line. Food is
cheaper in town than in the rural areas where peopleare charged
extra for transport costs.
The greatest shock so far in this whole question of whether
Kwa-Zulu can ever be economicallyviable now or in the dim misty
future has been the decision by the all-powerful South
Africangovernment in deciding that Richards Bay should be developed
as a white port, and in doing sodepriving KwaZulu of the only
opportunity of having an outlet to the sea. No one disputes the
factthat Richards Bay is providing jobs for Zulus, and that this
will increasingly be the case as theRichards Bay complex develops.
Job opportunities are welcome as is the concern of
governmentsthroughout the world. But the question that arises after
that is whether we can really beindependent as easily as it is so
often glibly said these days, if at most KwaZulu's developmentmeans
that it is merely going to continue to be a vast labour farm for
white South Africa, as allBlack Homelands are at present?
What is not so encouraging is that even in the metropolitan
areas of South Africa very few of ourpeople are paid above the
poverty datum line. Many surveys have been carried out including
oneby an employee of the Johannesburg Municipal Non-European
Affairs Department. I feel certainyou are all familiar with these.
On the average it is now well-known that the ratio of black to
whitewages is 1:14. Other industries give what are called fringe
benefits and many of them boast thatthey look after their employees
and provide them with a balanced diet. What Dr Francis Wilsonhad to
say last week on this point is quite illuminating concerning the
recent rise in the wages inthe Gold Industry (6). It is also true
to say that any wise person who uses any beast of burden,would look
after it, feed it well and shelter it so that it can be in good
condition to bear its burdens.
One must also thank and encourage all the other industries that
are trying to narrow the wage-gap. But we blacks wonder what
underlies white thinking in this respect because when one
looksaround there are no subsidised shops that sell necessaries of
life at sub-economic rates. At thesame time the majority of white
South Africans have for years rejected the idea of accepting
blackurban workers as anything but temporary sojourners. These
people are supposed to send moneyto their families in the Homelands
and to help us develop in the Homelands. The question is, inview of
the above, how does one do it? So far there seems to be no serious
consideration ofconsolidating these Homelands, as a result KwaZulu
cannot at present take even displacedAfricans from white farms as
it is congested. We are developing a new class of rural Africans
whocannot even have token arable allotments, and cannot keep any
stock, who are settled in what arecalled closer settlements. Owing
to the stringent application of Influx Control regulations
thesepeople cannot freely go to look for jobs in urban areas.
An additional burden is caused by lack of a free and compulsory
education for blacks, which isavailable for the white group. So
that some of the meagre earnings that are sent for necessitieshave
also to be used to pay for the children's education, in fees,
books, in some cases for theprivately paid teachers and also to put
up school buildings. At this juncture I wish to congratulatethose
white people who are assisting in providing funds towards the Rand
Bursary Fund, ASSECAand other similar projects. These are
palliatives that are very necessary and which we
highlyappreciate.
The Homelands are all being given 'self-government'. In other
words we are supposed to providefacilities for our people from our
taxation and from allocations from the Consolidated RevenueFund
made to us by the Republican government. At present it is not yet
apparent that theseHomeland governments can provide separate but
equal facilities on the basis of this. In fact theKwaZulu budget of
32 million rand for the current financial year is, despite
inflation, hardly a drop
-
in the ocean, in terms of providing facilities for four and a
quarter million Zulus. Even for our CivilService it is going to be
difficult to get the best men in view of this differentiation in
salaries on thebasis of race.
There is an apparent reluctance on the part of white South
Africa to consolidate the Homelandsrealistically, to make them
independent countries in a meaningful way. There is also an
equalreluctance to accept our people who are in the urban areas as
permanent residents in theseareas. It might also be pointed out
that all of us including myself, may be indulging in
self-hypnosisby even trying to believe we can successfully create
several ethnically oriented economies inSouth Africa instead of
one.
Several questions at once arise such as, does white South Africa
hope to have her cake and eatit? At some point we have got to
decide one way or the other. Or does white South Africa hope wecan
all live in a make-believe world ad infinitum through sheer force
of arms? This seems to be thetime for decision whether we are going
to be set up as viable Homelands or not. This is thedilemma of
white South Africa, in which South Africa alone has placed herself.
It is black SouthAfrica's dilemma too, with the difference that
since black South Africa does not wield the power ofthe bullet and
the ballot, it is a dilemma in which black South Africa has been
placed by whiteSouth Africa. So that in a sense we are not equally
cul-pable as far as the apportioning of blame inthis dilemma I am
talking about is concerned. But we all have equal reason to 'Cry
the BelovedCountry', since our destinies are so inextricably
intertwined.
How long are urban Africans going to remain temporary
so-journers in the metropolitan areas ofSouth Africa? If we blacks
are as human as whites can anyone tell me what are these virile
able-bodied men in hostels and compounds supposed to do in order to
enjoy feminine company? Ofthe married temporary sojourners from the
Homelands who are forbidden to bring their wives withthem into
metropolitan areas, the question can be asked: Can our male white
compatriotscountenance the idea of living in separation a mensa et
thoro from their wives, and only make loveto their wives during the
Easter weekend and during a few days at Christmas time?
Many of you will, I am sure, want to ask me, why then be
in-volved in the Homelands policy? Ibelieve that it is a moral duty
to be involved in alleviating human suffering, even if that is the
mostone can do. For this reason I believe that despite the many
snags I have pointed out there is stillsome scope to help my people
to develop even within the limitations of the policy. That is why
Ihave great admiration for what American firms like Polaroid,
I.B.M., and Pepsi Cola, and bankslike Barclays Bank and Standard
Bank are doing in giving equal pay for equal work regardless
ofrace. These firms should by now have put our own South African
firms to shame, if at all we stillhave a conscience such as I
believe South Africans have. Do South Africans feel happy
thatforeign firms should take this lead, and that South African
firms should drag their feet instead offollowing in their
footsteps?
I believe that apart from the development of people themselves
there is still a little scope fordeveloping these Homelands whether
one believes in separate development or not. TheHomelands to me are
a challenge whether one regards the Homelands policy as a political
fact ora fantasy.
I believe that their development even on the basis of
establishing micro-economic activities issomething in which all of
you can assist us. Community development schemes are a necessity
inareas such as KwaZulu where people are as a result of poverty
still victims of diseases of wantsuch as malnutrition, kwashiorkor
and tuberculosis.
I believe that where there is economic infrastructure, industry
and commerce in South Africashould not hesitate to help us to
establish industries, not necessarily as cures for our economic
illsbut even as palliatives. To me while South Africa battles in
trying to make up her mind about thefuture, we should not forget
that human