Vivienne Ncakeni was born in Brakpan, she was educated in the Transvaal and Natal and trained as a teacher. She returned to Brakpan to teach in the late 1930s and became one of the most outspoken members of the Transvaal African Teachers\' Association, serving on the TATA executive and on the action committee that planned the teachers\' campaign for better wages and conditions in the early 1940s. She was also a participant and speaker at some of the foundation meetings of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL).
References
• Gerhart G.M and Karis T. (ed)(1977). From Protest to challenge: A documentary History of African Politics in South Africa: 1882-1964, Vol.4 Political Profiles 1882 - 1964. Hoover Institution Pres: Stanford University.