The biographical essays are selected from students in a South African history survey course that sought to put Africans back at the center of their history and highlight African agency. With only an overview of apartheid, students undertook to read the biography of an apartheid resister. After getting acquainted with the resister, they did further research to understand how this person resisted the white supremacy system of apartheid, and contributed to its dismantling. As the course instructor, doing research alongside my students, I encountered Ruth First for the first time in her writings, specifically her article The Gold of Migrant Labor, which as early as 1961 exposed the scandalously exploitative salaries and dangerous working conditions of miners – I was reminded why we did this project: to acknowledge and be inspired by the moral courage of those who spoke truth to power, and some of whom lost their lives. There is so much heroism that deserves to be more widely known an honored. I would like to thank SAHO for the opportunity to partner again and we hope you enjoy reading about these courageous anti-apartheid resisters.
Victoria Vandiver
Project: The Life of Trevor Huddleston, Makhalipile (the Dauntless One)