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The struggle for equal rights and freedom in Port Elizabeth started when a number of discriminatory laws, designed to oppress the black people of the city and country, were established. Many organizations and people in both Port Elizabeth and South Africa tried to resist these laws for their blatant discrimination and unfairness. Later, under the Apartheid regime, new laws were instituted that affected even more people. Laws such as the Group Areas Act were instrumental in the forced removal of non-white people from their homes and the destruction of South End. Other multi-cultural communities in the city were also affected, such as Fairview, Willowdene, North End, Salisbury Park, Lakeview and the Hill (now Central). Faced with such terrible tragedy, there were always those who were willing to put themselves at risk in order to stand up and fight for the rights of their fellow countrymen. The Eastern Cape was home to several noteworthy resistance leaders who played a prominent role in the struggle for freedom. Many of them spent time imprisoned on Robben Island at around the same time as Nelson Mandela, who eventually became the President of South Africa. One of these was Dennis Brutus who was imprisoned in 1963 for his role as the President of the South African Non-Racial Olympics Committee. Other individuals that spent time on Robben Island include Govan Mbeki, Nceba Faku (Port Elizabeth’s ex-Mayor) and Raymond Mhlaba. Govan Mbeki, father of South African President Thabo Mbeki, was a member of the ANC, the SA Communist Party, and a Rivonia Trialist. Nceba Faku has the unique distinction of being the first black mayor of Port Elizabeth, as well as the first mayor of the Nelson Mandela Metropole. Raymond Mhlaba was a Rivonia Trialist with Nelson Mandela. He later went onto become the first Eastern Cape Premier. Some of these resistance leaders worked hard to fight for the sporting rights of people of a different colour. Eddie Heynes, a South End United cricket player and an Anti-Coloured Affairs Department activist, was one of these. Omar Farouk Cassem, a founder member of the South African Non-Racial Olympic Committee, is another. As the chairman of the Eastern Province Council of Sport, Raymond P. Uren was yet another noteworthy sporting activist; one who was an inspiration for many young anti-apartheid activities. He is still very active in both politics and sports. Several people were targeted for their efforts in the field of education during this difficult time. These include Frank Landman, the chairman of the Anti-Coloured Affairs Department (CAD) and a member of the Teachers’ League of South Africa, Abdu Ra-Ouf Salie, a member of the Teachers’ League of South Africa and the Non-European Unity Movement, and George Botha, a Biology Teacher at Paterson High School who died in detention under mysterious circumstances. Women were also not excluded from the struggle. Molly Blackburn, a leading anti-Apartheid campaigner during the 1970’s and 1980’s and a member of the Black Sash and the Cape Provincial Council, and Sophie Williams-De Bruyn, an anti-Apartheid activist and a participant in the 1956 Women’s March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, come to the fore. Other activists that you will enjoy learning more about at the museum include D.S. “Baby” Pillay and B.B. Ramjee. Discovering more about the lives and initiatives of the groups and individuals that took a stand against the inequalities and injustices imposed during the Apartheid era, in South End, Port Elizabeth and South Africa, enforces an appreciation for the determined efforts of our previous generation for the overall benefit of those now enjoying political, social and religious freedom. |
