The increasing politicization of the oppressed and exploited masses of South Africa/Azania demands the constant re-writing and re-assessment of the past. New voices, muted until now, must be heard, and old fighters given their rightful place in the annals of struggle in this country.

As one of the first generation of revolutionary fighters, Johnny Gomas has left deep imprints on the national liberation struggle in South Africa. But how many of the new generation of workers and fighters have even heard of him? With hardly any formal schooling, Johnny Gomas learned his lessons in the struggle and in the broad movement of liberation. He is a voice we have to listen to even though it has not been heard for many years. He, more than most people, spoke about and organised around all the main themes of our struggle for liberation long before there was any real certainty that that struggle would be victorious.

Doreen Musson, with admirable artistry, brings him back to life in these pages without at any stage allowing the individual whose life story she foregrounds to overshadow the moving pageant of South African history which constitutes the background to this biography.

Content

Chapter One - From Abbotsdale to Kimberley

Chapter Two - The year with the ICU: 1921 - 1926

Chapter Three - The Black Republic Question and the Third Period

Chapter Four - The Years with the CPSA: 1925 - 1935

Chapter Five - The Fighter for Black Unity: 1935 - 1945

Chapter Six - The Fighter in Turmoil: 1946 - 1960

Chapter Seven - Re-examining the Past

Chapter eight - Conclusion