Winter update from the Ruth First Papers Project

The project team working on the Ruth First papers digitisation project recently sent out an update as the project enters the winter term and resumes digitisation after a summer hiatus. We're pleased to share this report:

Mozambique trip for RFP researchers

Following on from Matt’s trip to the CEA and the IESE in September, Leo, Vanessa and Virgilio will be attending a Ruth First memorial conference in Maputo in late November. The conference is titled ‘Os intelectuais Africanos face aos desafios do século XXI’ and runs from the 28th to 29th of November. The team will also present to the CEA in a plenary session on the 27th.

Virgilio will remain in Maputo until February, conducting a survey of the materials held in the CEA archives.

Read more about the conference on the CEA’s website.

Read about Matt’s trip to Moambique and South Africa in September on the project blog.



Video from the 90 Days film screening

A recording of the talks at the film screening on the 17th of August is now available via the School of Advanced Study YouTube channel. The event featured director Jack Gold in conversation with Professor Philip Murphy and Gavin Williams in conversation with Leo.

Watch the video here.




ICwS seminars for your diary

There are two upcoming seminars in the Institute related to the project:

Songs and Secrets: South Africa from Liberation to Governance

26 November 2012, 17:30, ICwS G22/26. Barry Gilder (former intelligence chief in post-apartheid South Africa) will discuss his new book Songs and Secrets: South Africa from Liberation to Governance. The session will be chaired by Dr Sue Onslow (Senior Research Fellow and Co-Investigator, Commonwealth Oral History Project).

The Commonwealth in the World: resistance, governance and change, 'Ringtone and the Drum: West Africa on the Edge'

17 January 2013, 5.30pm, ICwS. Author Marc Weston will talk about the modernisation process in West Africa and his new book Ringtone and the Drum.

Bloomsbury Festival: 20th-21st October 2012

The Bloomsbury Festival 2012 will take place on the weekend of the 20th October celebrating the cultural organisations, community groups, creative individuals and iconic institutions of this little-known corner of central London.

From dance to drama, poetry to performance, art to architecture and workshops to walks it’s already promising to be another exciting year with programming taking place across the whole area

Below are listed some exhibitions and talks celebrating some of the Institute's library and archive collections. For a full listing of events please explore: http://www.bloomsburyfestival.org.uk/

Exhibition: Ruth First's Extraordinary Life
Sat 20 Oct 11:00-17:00 at Senate House

Sun 21 Oct 11:00-16:00 at Senate House

Anti-apartheid activist Ruth First dedicated her life to “the liberation of Africa for I count myself an African, and there is no cause I hold dearer”. She was passionate about achieving justice in South Africa, but her perspective was international. First saw activism, solidarity work, research and writing as essential activities for a revolutionary. She was assassinated in 1982 by a letter bomb sent by the South African secret service. The Institute of Commonwealth Studies is digitising this extraordinary woman’s papers. This exhibition of Ruth First’s papers, photographs and archival material at Senate House offers an introduction to both First herself and her important works, which retain their relevance, especially in the light of recent democracy movements across northern Africa and beyond.


Talk: A Revolutionary Life

Sun 21 Oct 11:00-11:30 at Senate House

This talk introduces Ruth First and offers an insight into her multifaceted, revolutionary life as an international scholar, activist and writer, and wife and mother

Talk: Introduction to the Ruth First Archive


Sun 21 Oct 14:00-14:30 at Senate House

This talk will introduce the archive of Ruth First's collection of papers, included her collected writings, published journalism, correspondence and notes.

Talk: Ruth First and Bloomsbury

Sun 21 Oct 15:00-15:30 at Senate House

Following her arrest under the South African 90-day law, Ruth First was barred from her profession as a journalist; she went into exile and moved to London. This talk discusses First's intellectual associations with Bloomsbury.

Exhibition: Campaigning for Independence, Equality and Freedom


  Sat 20 Oct 11:00-17:00 at Senate House
Sun 21 Oct 11:00-16:00 at Senate House

The political archives held in the Institute of Commonwealth Studies library encompass more than 270 boxes of political pamphlets, newsletters and posters from over 60 countries, mainly dating from the 1960s and 1970s, the period when many of these countries were making the transition to independence. The Southern African region is particularly well represented, with materials from an extraordinarily wide variety of different political parties, trade unions and pressure groups having been preserved. This exhibition reveals how these materials are used to convey different messages in different ways and provide an historical insight not found in official archives and records. Curated by Benjamin Coleman and David Clover.

Ruth First articles and book reviews

Today forwarding a post from the Ruth First Papers team

"The Ruth First Papers team would like to introduce a collection, prepared by Routledge, of articles and book reviews that complement Ruth First. Explore the collection today by clicking on the link below.


http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/access/ruth-first.pdf

The Review of African Political Economy has published many articles on Ruth First and they may publish more! Sign up to receive table of contents alerts for this SSCI listed journal today"

Exhibition: Ruth First: A Revolutionary Life. Early Anti-Apartheid Journalism and Activism

To coincide with the Ruth First Papers project symposium, taking place on the 7th of June the Library  has put up a small (two cases) display of material from the Ruth First and related collections.

This exhibition concentrates on the period 1946-1964 when Ruth First was active in South Africa as both journalist and activist and includes material relating to the Bethal farm labour scandal, the Freedom Charter, the Treason Trial, the banning of the Guardian and the subsequent Freedom of the Press Conference of November 1951, Ruth First's journalism, her banning and arrest and detention under the 90-day law.

The exhibition is on the fourth floor of Senate House, in the Membership Hall of the Senate House Library and admission is free (just say at the membership desk you wish to see the exhibition).

SAS-Space: Collection of the Month: Ruth First Papers

Today am very happy to re-blog the SAS-Space Collection of the Month

SAS-Space: Collection of the Month: Ruth First Papers: Our featured collection for June is the Ruth First Papers collection: the collected notes and writings of Ruth First, anti-apartheid activist, investigative journalist, and scholar. First worked her entire life to end apartheid in South Africa. She was exiled from South Africa in 1964, with her husband, the prominent South African communist Joe Slovo, and their children. In 1982, while working in Mozambique, Ruth First was killed by a letter bomb sent by the South African secret service. 2012 is the thirtieth anniversary of Ruth First’s murder.


Part of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, the project will also host a major symposium on First's work in London on June 7th: see the project site for further details.

The digitisation of the data is ongoing, but the first fruits of the project are now available. They include published writings on Gaddafi's Libya, unpublished writings and correspondence, plus some particularly fascinating scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings from the late 1940s.

A revolutionary life: Ruth First 1925-1982

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies has recently begun a project focused on the life and work of Ruth First, the South African journalist, writer, scholar and anti-apartheid activist. This project will include selective digitisation of some of the material from the Ruth First Archive collection held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library.

Also as part of the project a symposium is planned for the 7th of June, details below:

A revolutionary life: Ruth First 1925-1982

07 June 2012, 10:00 - 19:00
Room 349 (Senate House, University of London)

This event is a joint initiative between the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau and the Institute of Commonwealth Studies.

Ruth First was an anti-apartheid activist, investigative journalist, and scholar. First worked her entire life to end apartheid in South Africa, writing in 1969 she explained how she her life was dedicated ‘to the liberation of African for I count myself an African, and there is no cause I hold dearer’. Her knowledge of the continent was phenomenal and she knew many of the continent’s leading political figures Nelson Mandela, Ben Bella, Oginda Odinga. First was an influential figure, who saw activism, solidarity work (for the anti-apartheid struggle) and her research and writing as inextricably linked. She was exiled from South Africa in 1964, with her husband, the prominent South African communist Joe Slovo and their children. In 1982, while working in Mozambique, Ruth First was killed by a letter bomb sent by South Africa secret service.

2012 is the thirtieth anniversary of Ruth First’s murder. The Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS) and the Commonwealth Advisory Bureau are holding a one-day celebration of Ruth First’s extraordinary life and work. The event is part of year long project that is digitising some of Ruth First’s papers and books held at the ICS.

The event will include Justice Albie Sachs, Gillian Slovo, Barbara Harlow, Shula Marks and Alan Wieder.

Cost: £10 (standard); £5 (students/unwaged) (includes lunch and refreshments)

Registration form

RSVP to chloe.pieters@sas.ac.uk

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library and Archives contains strong collections relating to the struggle within, and outside of, South Africa against the apartheid system. Today's post highlights some items relating to Nelson Mandela.


The Nelson Mandela Trials collection consists of photocopies of papers collected by Joel Joffe, lawyer acting for Nelson Mandela, relating to Mandela's trial in Pretoria (1962) and the Rivonia Trial (1963-1964); including Mandela's application to have the Pretoria trial postponed; Mandela's address to the court in mitigation of the sentence of five years imprisonment, detailing his political commitment and activities in the African National Congress (ANC); a copy of the indictment in the Rivonia Trial, the initial statement made by Mandela to his lawyers, giving details of his early life; notes by Mandela on his life and ANC association; a copy of Mandela's statement from the dock, signed by Mandela, manuscript notes by Mandela to use if he were sentenced to death, and manuscript notes by Mandela referring to the tribal council called Imbizo.

Mary Benson was born on 8 December 1919 in Pretoria, South Africa. In 1950 she became secretary to Michael Scott and first became involved in the field of race relations. In 1951 she became secretary to Tshekedi Khama, and in 1952, together with Scott and David Astor, she helped to found the Africa Bureau in London. She was its secretary until 1957 and travelled widely on its behalf. In 1957 she became secretary to the Treason Trials Defence Fund in Johannesburg. She became a close friend of Nelson Mandela, and assisted with smuggling him out of South Africa in 1962. In February 1966 she was served with a banning order under the Suppression of Communism Act and she left South Africa for London later that year. In London she continued to work tirelessly against apartheid, writing to newspapers and corresponding with fellow activists in South Africa. In April 1999 Mandela visited her at her home during his state visit to Britain and later that year an 80th birthday party was staged for her at South Africa House. Mary Benson died on 20 June 2000. Among her writings are 'South Africa: the Struggle for a Birthright', 'Chief Albert Luthuli', 'The History of Robben Island', 'Nelson Mandela: the Man and the Movement', the autobiographical 'A Far Cry' and radio plays on Mandela and the Rivonia trial. Material within the papers of Mary Benson include newspaper cuttings, correspondence, notes, and articles on Nelson Mandela and other prisoners on Robben Island, and material gathered by Mary Benson for her biography of Nelson Mandela. The collection also includes correspondence with Winnie Mandela and some photographs of Nelson Mandela from his visits in London.


Ruth First was born on 4 May 1925 in Johannesburg, the daughter of Julius and Matilda ('Tilly') First. On her graduation in 1945, First took a job in the Research Division of the Department of Social Welfare of Johannesburg City Council, but she resigned in 1946 in order to pursue a career in journalism. In the same year she produced pamphlets in aid of the miners' strike and was temporarily secretary of the Johannesburg offices of the South African Communist Party. In 1947, together with Michael Scott, she exposed a farm labour scandal in Bethal, Eastern Transvaal. Between 1946-1952 she was the Johannesburg editor of the weekly newspaper the Guardian, the mouthpiece of the SACP, and following subsequent bannings, the Clarion, People's World, Advance, New Age and Spark. Between 1954-1963 she was also the editor of Fighting Talk, a Johannesburg based monthly. In 1949 Ruth First married Joe Slovo. In 1950, First was named under the Suppression of Communism Act and her movements restricted. In 1953 she was banned from membership of all political organisations, although in 1955 she helped draw up the Freedom Charter, a fundamental document of the African National Congress, and was later a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's military wing. In December 1956, she and Joe Slovo were among the 156 people charged in the so-called Treason Trial, although her indictment was dismissed in April 1959. In August 1963 she was arrested and detained under the 90-Day Law for a total period of 117 days. Effectively forced into exile, in March 1964 she left South Africa for the United Kingdom, accompanied by her three daughters. From 1964 she worked full-time as a freelance writer, before becoming a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester in 1972. Between 1973-1978 she lectured in development studies at the University of Durham, although she spent periods of secondment at universities in Dar es Salaam and Lourenco Marques (Maputo). In November 1978 she took up a post as Director of the research training programme at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. Ruth First was killed on 17 August 1982, when she opened a parcel bomb addressed to her at the above university. Among other publications Ruth First wrote the foreword for and edited Nelson Mandela's autobiography, No Easy Walk to Freedom. The Ruth First papers, include background material for the book, correspondence re publication and between First and President Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria, in French, a number of draft sections, as well as a file of reviews after publication.


The CIIR collection includes material related to the Release Mandela Campaign, transcripts of an interview with Winnie Mandela, and copies of speeches and articles by Mandela.

The Library collection also includes a large number of published work relating to Nelson Mandela and authored by him.

Nelson Mandela in the Archives

The Institute of Commonwealth Studies Library and Archives contains strong collections relating to the struggle within, and outside of, South Africa against the apartheid system. Today's post highlights some items relating to Nelson Mandela.

The Nelson Mandela Trials collection consists of photocopies of papers collected by Joel Joffe, lawyer acting for Nelson Mandela, relating to Mandela's trial in Pretoria (1962) and the Rivonia Trial (1963-1964); including Mandela's application to have the Pretoria trial postponed; Mandela's address to the court in mitigation of the sentence of five years imprisonment, detailing his political commitment and activities in the African National Congress (ANC); a copy of the indictment in the Rivonia Trial, the initial statement made by Mandela to his lawyers, giving details of his early life; notes by Mandela on his life and ANC association; a copy of Mandela's statement from the dock, signed by Mandela, manuscript notes by Mandela to use if he were sentenced to death, and manuscript notes by Mandela referring to the tribal council called Imbizo.

Mary Benson was born on 8 December 1919 in Pretoria, South Africa. In 1950 she became secretary to Michael Scott and first became involved in the field of race relations. In 1951 she became secretary to Tshekedi Khama, and in 1952, together with Scott and David Astor, she helped to found the Africa Bureau in London. She was its secretary until 1957 and travelled widely on its behalf. In 1957 she became secretary to the Treason Trials Defence Fund in Johannesburg. She became a close friend of Nelson Mandela, and assisted with smuggling him out of South Africa in 1962. In February 1966 she was served with a banning order under the Suppression of Communism Act and she left South Africa for London later that year. In London she continued to work tirelessly against apartheid, writing to newspapers and corresponding with fellow activists in South Africa. In April 1999 Mandela visited her at her home during his state visit to Britain and later that year an 80th birthday party was staged for her at South Africa House. Mary Benson died on 20 June 2000. Among her writings are 'South Africa: the Struggle for a Birthright', 'Chief Albert Luthuli', 'The History of Robben Island', 'Nelson Mandela: the Man and the Movement', the autobiographical 'A Far Cry' and radio plays on Mandela and the Rivonia trial. Material within the papers of Mary Benson include newspaper cuttings, correspondence, notes, and articles on Nelson Mandela and other prisoners on Robben Island, and material gathered by Mary Benson for her biography of Nelson Mandela. The collection also includes correspondence with Winnie Mandela and some photographs of Nelson Mandela from his visits in London.

Ruth First was born on 4 May 1925 in Johannesburg, the daughter of Julius and Matilda ('Tilly') First. On her graduation in 1945, First took a job in the Research Division of the Department of Social Welfare of Johannesburg City Council, but she resigned in 1946 in order to pursue a career in journalism. In the same year she produced pamphlets in aid of the miners' strike and was temporarily secretary of the Johannesburg offices of the South African Communist Party. In 1947, together with Michael Scott, she exposed a farm labour scandal in Bethal, Eastern Transvaal. Between 1946-1952 she was the Johannesburg editor of the weekly newspaper the Guardian, the mouthpiece of the SACP, and following subsequent bannings, the  Clarion, People's World, Advance, New Age and Spark. Between 1954-1963 she was also the editor of Fighting Talk, a Johannesburg based monthly. In 1949 Ruth First married Joe Slovo. In 1950, First was named under the Suppression of Communism Act and her movements restricted. In 1953 she was banned from membership of all political organisations, although in 1955 she helped draw up the Freedom Charter, a fundamental document of the African National Congress, and was later a member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the ANC's military wing. In December 1956, she and Joe Slovo were among the 156 people charged in the so-called Treason Trial, although her indictment was dismissed in April 1959. In August 1963 she was arrested and detained under the 90-Day Law for a total period of 117 days. Effectively forced into exile, in March 1964 she left South Africa for the United Kingdom, accompanied by her three daughters. From 1964 she worked full-time as a freelance writer, before becoming a Research Fellow at the University of Manchester in 1972. Between 1973-1978 she lectured in development studies at the University of Durham, although she spent periods of secondment at universities in Dar es Salaam and Lourenco Marques (Maputo). In November 1978 she took up a post as Director of the research training programme at the University Eduardo Mondlane in Maputo. Ruth First was killed on 17 August 1982, when she opened a parcel bomb addressed to her at the above university. Among other publications Ruth First wrote the foreword for and edited Nelson Mandela's autobiography, No Easy Walk to Freedom. The Ruth First papers, include background material for the book, correspondence re publication and between First and President Ahmed Ben Bella of Algeria, in French, a number of draft sections, as well as a file of reviews after publication.


The CIIR collection includes material related to the Release Mandela Campaign, transcripts of an interview with Winnie Mandela, and copies of speeches and articles by Mandela.

The Library collection also includes a large number of published work relating to Nelson Mandela and authored by him.