Rights, Land, and Labour: Black British Critics of South African Policies Before 1948

From the late nineteenth century onwards the critical eyes of black British individuals and organisations were directed at South Africa. Their strong sentiments were shaped by a common experience of racial discrimination in the colonies, and to a lesser extent in Britain, and for many a firm sense of Christian values and integrity. Both black people in Britain and visiting South Africans could rely to some extent on the support of white liberals belonging to temperance, peace, humanitarian and missionary bodies, and in particular on Quakers, nonconformists and socialists who supported various Christian Brotherhoods. Most black-led organisations, beginning with the Pan-African Association which formed in London in 1897, were constant critics of the discriminatory policies pursued in South Africa that denied civil rights to black South Africans with regard to land, labour, and politics. Books, journals and newspapers written and published by black individuals and organisations within Britain attempted to enlist official and public support to bring about change in South Africa and continued long after Union in 1910. Although they were poorly funded endeavours which appear to have had little, if any, impact on South African policies, they nevertheless encouraged opponents of segregation within the Union and offered a sustained voice against the incorporation of the High Commission Territories. (Author abstract