STANDING on STREET CORNERS STANDING on STREET CORNERS a History of the Natal Midlands Region of the Black Sash
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STANDING ON STREET CORNERS ON STREET STANDING STANDING ON STREET CORNERS A history of the Natal Midlands region of the Black Sash WHAT WAS the relevance and legacy of the Black Sash, the women’s anti- apartheid organisation, and what did this mean to its members? This book looks specifi cally at the Natal Midlands (Pietermaritzburg) region and the distinctiveness of its contribution. Like other regions it supported the liberation struggle through public protest and educational campaigns aimed at exposing iniquitous apartheid legislation. In a police state this required considerable determination and courage. During the darkest hours Natal Midlands Sash kept alive hope for universal civil rights in a democratic South Africa. The Pietermaritzburg Advice Offi ce became one of the country’s busiest, specialising in old age pension and disability grant issues. Knowledge painstakingly gathered about life for black South Africans was fed back into Sash’s political and information campaigns while Natal Midlands produced several signifi cant publications. One of the smaller branches, it punched above its weight. Whether Sash was a political pressure group of women, or a women’s organisation challenging patriarchy, Merrett Mary Kleinenberg and Christopher generated lively debate. Environmental issues were also accorded a high priority. Fifteen interviews show that involvement in Sash was a life-enhancing experience for many members who have looked back with pride and honour at their part in the anti-apartheid movement from 1955 to 1994. Occasional Publications of S The Natal Society Foundation. F PIETERMARITZBURG 9 780992 176648 Photographs are from the archives of the Natal Midlands Black Sash Mary Kleinenberg and Christopher Merrett STANDING ON STREET CORNERS A history of the Natal Midlands region of the Black Sash Mary Kleinenberg and Christopher Merrett with research assistance from Kyla O’Neill S F Occasional Publications of the Natal Society Foundation PIETERMARITZBURG 2015 Standing on street corners: A history of the Natal Midlands region of the Black Sash. © Mary Kleinenberg and Christopher Merrett 2015 First published in 2015 in Pietermaritzburg by the Trustees of The Natal Society Foundation under its imprint ‘Occasional Publications of The Natal Society Foundation’. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without reference to the publishers, the Trustees of The Natal Society Foundation, PO Box 11093, Dorpspruit 3206, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Natal Society Foundation website: http://www.natalia.org.za/ ISBN 978-0-99217-664-8 Design & layout: Jo Marwick Photographs are from the archives of the Natal Midlands Black Sash This book was written in admiration of every courageous woman who took a stand by joining the Black Sash. It is dedicated in particular to the memory of four notable Natal Midlands women: Maimie Corrigall for her tenacity and determination in keeping the region going, especially in the seventies; Marie Dyer, who played a leading role in the region for forty years and whose letters to the press still give meaning to the times; Busi Nyide, who for twenty- five years patiently listened to and advised hundreds of people who came to the Pietermaritzburg Advice Office for help, establishing vital links with the community; and Pat Merrett whose steadfast perseverance as convenor of the Advice Office ensured its survival. Maimie Corrigall Marie Dyer Busi (Victoria) Nyide Pat Merrett CONTENTS Chapter 1 The conscience of white South Africa .................................. 1 Chapter 2 Women of courage: the first decade, 1955−1964 ................. 25 Chapter 3 Finding a focus: the second decade, 1965−1974 ................. 51 Chapter 4 The years of uprising: the third decade, 1975−1984 ............ 69 Chapter 5 Intensified oppression: the fourth decade, 1985−1994, part 1 ................................................................. 97 Chapter 6 Final stages: the fourth decade, 1985−1994, part 2 ............. 139 Chapter 7 Serving the people: the Advice Office, 1975−1983 ............. 175 Chapter 8 In a State of Emergency: the Advice Office, 1984−1989 ..... 195 Chapter 9 Moving towards liberation: the Advice Office, 1990−1994 ............................................................................ 217 Chapter 10 Cruel beyond description: old age pensions and disability grants .................................................................... 235 Chapter 11 In retrospect: conclusions and overview .............................. 261 Appendix Members of the Natal Midlands Black Sash ........................ 267 Interviews and interviewers ...................................................................... 275 Bibliography ............................................................................................. 281 Index ......................................................................................................... 287 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AFRA Association for Rural Advancement ANC African National Congress AO Advice Office APC Alan Paton Centre CCB Civil Co-operation Bureau COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions CRL Civil Rights League DAB Drakensberg Administration Board DESCOM Detainees Support Committee DG disability grant ECC End Conscription Campaign FEDSAW Federation of South African Women FEDSEM Federal Theological Seminary FFF Five Freedoms Forum FOSATU Federation of South African Trade Unions GPEC Greater Pietermaritzburg Environmental Coalition HNP Herstigte Nasionale Party HP hire purchase IMSSA Independent Mediation Service of South Africa LRC Legal Resources Centre MC management committee MCRF Midlands Crisis Relief Fund MDM Mass Democratic Movement MIGPF Metal Industries Group Pension Fund MK Umkhonto we Sizwe MP member of parliament NAPAC Natal Performing Arts Council NCA Natal Citizens Association NCAR National Committee Against Removals NCW National Council of Women NGO non-governmental organisation NIM Network of Independent Monitors NLC National Land Committee NMBS Natal Midlands Black Sash NMCC Natal Midlands Crisis Committee NNLA Northern Natal Landowners Association NPA Natal Provincial Administration NSFT Natal Society Foundation Trust NUMSA National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa NUSAS National Union of South African Students NW Natal Witness OAP old age pension PAC Pan Africanist Congress PACSA Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness PDA Pietermaritzburg Democratic Association REAP Rape Education Action Project RRS Race Relations Survey SABC South African Broadcasting Corporation SACC South African Christian Council SACC South African Council of Churches SACOS South African Council on Sport SADF South African Defence Force SADWU South African Domestic Workers Union SAIRR South African Institute of Race Relations SAR South African Railways SM Sash Magazine TRAC Transvaal Rural Action Committee UDF United Democratic Front UIF Unemployment Insurance Fund WC workmen’s compensation WDCL Womens Defence of the Constitution League YMCA Young Mens Christian Association PREFACE The South African Left was full of highly productive writers and a source of several long-lived journal titles. Given the political priorities of the time, these were not always of a consistently high bibliographic standard. The titles of two journals frequently cited in this book, published by the Black Sash and the South African Institute of Race Relations respectively, varied with time. For the sake of consistency they have been standardised as Sash Magazine and Race Relations Survey (the first confusingly started and ended life as The Black Sash/Die Swart Serp and Sash in 1955 and 1995 respectively; while the second changed its name from Survey of Race Relations in 1978). Although this book is well referenced, it has been decided not to indulge in great detail where primary material is concerned. Archival sources used at the Alan Paton Centre (APC) were the John Aitchison papers (PC 14) and the Natal Midlands Black Sash papers (PC4), which include a selection of Advice Office case files from the mid- to late 1980s. Interviews now lodged with the oral history collection at the APC are separately listed with details of interviewees and interviewers. Thanks are due to the staff of the APC for access to key archival collections. However, the research planned by Kyla O’Neill was severely hampered by refusal of a very reasonable request based on past principle and practice of the national archives that boxes of case files be transported on the University of KwaZulu-Natal van for use under supervision at a venue within the university library system in Durban. This book is the poorer for that decision. The Natal Society Foundation Trust (NSFT) gave a modest grant to Kyla that allowed her to travel to Pietermaritzburg and stay long enough to complete a substantial amount of research on the Advice Office that has contributed significantly to this volume. We thank Julie Parle for connecting Kyla with the project. The NSFT is to be commended for the unwavering support it has given to this book and its general backing to the publication of historical research relating to KwaZulu-Natal that would be considered unviable by commercial and academic publishers. We thank all members of Sash who agreed to be interviewed for this book and those who conducted the interviews. Alleyn Diesel read some of the first draft, took many of the photographs and contributed valuable ideas and support and Peter Croeser checked