Sobukwe and Apartheid

Speaking about Sobukwe, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said: "I am greatly privileged to have known him and to have fallen under his spell. His long imprisonment, restriction, and early death were a major tragedy for our land and for the world."

"Pogrund's book is welcome not just because it bears witness to the real complexity of black liberation politics but as a monument to a fine and remarkable man . . . who gave voice to the voiceless."--New Statesman & Society

"This is a moving story well told. . . . It is based on unique knowledge and documents, written with all the fluency, commitment and authority of the reporter who himself enraged the regime by exposing conditions in South African prisons."--The Guardian, London

Thirty years ago, Robert Sobukwe led a mass defiance of the pass laws in South Africa. He persuaded blacks to present themselves at police stations and demand arrest, but the nonviolent protest turned to tragedy when the police opened fire, killing sixty-nine. It was March 21, 1960, at Sharpeville, Sobukwe's last day of liberty. He died nearly eighteen years later of lung cancer. Leader of the Pan-Africanist Congress, Sobukwe was both a colleague and rival of figures better known today: Tutu, Mandela, and Buthelezi. Because the Pan-Africanist idea was not in the end supported by the anti-Apartheid leadership, Sobukwe and his contributions have been largely forgotten. It is more than appropriate that his story be told now. Understanding his life is essential to a full understanding of the tensions among contemporary black leaders in South Africa.