This past Sunday marked the 105th anniversary of the founding of the ANC. Originally called the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), the political organisation was formed on the 8th January 1912, in response, in part, to the Natives Land Act which once passed into law would create separate reserves for black people, and prohibit … Read more
Many of the major streets in Durban have been renamed to honour heroes of the liberation struggle. Aliwal Street is renamed after Samora Machel – who was a Mozambican military commander, revolutionary socialist leader and eventual President of Mozambique. Machel led the country to independance in 1975 until his death in 1986, when his presidential aircraft crashed … Read more
When we think of South African struggle heroes names like Oliver Tambo, Steve Biko and Walter Sisulu come to mind, but there were also many women who played a very significant role in the fight against apartheid, names that we should be able to call to mind just as easily. One such name is Nhlumba Bertha Mkhize, after whom Victoria Street is … Read more
On the 9th August 1956 thousands of women of all races marched to Union Buildings in Pretoria. Their aim was to deliver a petition to the then Prime Minister, J.G. Strijdom, objecting to the pass laws that required black Africans to carry a range of documents, including a photograph, employment records, tax payments and criminal records, that enabled the … Read more
It’s been a long time since we’ve run one of our ‘No Longer at This Address’ features where we look at the history behind the (somewhat controversial) road name changes in Durban. Interestingly not all of the new road names are named after South Africans, with quite a few named in honour of struggle heroes from … Read more
With Human Rights Day being commemorated last Saturday it seemed the right time to talk about Chief Albert Luthuli, one of the key actors in the anti-pass campaign that led to the March 1960 Sharpeville protest. While he wasn’t actually present on the day of the Sharpeville shootings (he was testifying in Pretoria), as President General of … Read more