Campaign for the Congress of the People

Campaign for the Congress of the People and the Freedom Charter

Transvaal

Launching of the Cop Campaign

A prelude to the launch of the Congress of the People Campaign in the Transvaal was the Western Areas Day for Campaign and Solidarity and the Resist Apartheid Conference held at the Trades Hall, Johannesburg, on the weekend of 26 June 1954. The objectives of the campaign and the conference were to highlight the plight of those threatened with forced removals from the Western Areas, to pledge solidarity with them, and to coordinate activities aimed against apartheid. Luthuli, in his capacity as President of the African National Congress and Volunteer-in-Chief for the COP, made the first public call for 50,000 Freedom Volunteers to engage in the Resist Apartheid Campaign and work for the COP. The day itself was historically significant for the Congresses as it was on this day that the first national political strike and the Defiance Campaign were launched by the ANC and its allies in 1950 and 1952 respectively.

The formal launch of the Transvaal COP campaign occurred a month later on 25 July 1954. The Conference was sponsored by the Transvaal ANC, Transvaal Indian Congress, SACPO (Transvaal) and COD branches in the province, and was opened by Dr. Wilson Conco, Natal ANC President. Organisations invited to me Conference were requested to send four delegates each. The credentials committee reported the presence of UFS delegates.

Joe Slovo , speaking on the topic of "What is the Congress of the People?" referred to it as the "Volkswill - the true will of the people of South Africa" and Ahmed Kathrada outlined the need for and roles of 15,000 volunteers to spearhead the campaign in the province. The conference itself was spirited and at one stage the Special Branch was forced to leave the hall as a court order had been granted instructing the police not to interfere with the proceedings of the conference. The COP bulletin described the mood of the delegates as follows:

Now the police moved—they were near the door, but this was surely their longest, most humiliating journey. The feeling of the crowd broke forth in tumultuous shouts, the booing of twelve hundred triumphant throats. There is still justice left. A sum of 100 pounds was collected on that day for the campaign in the Transvaal. The delegates adopted the following resolution:

this conference, representing the people of the Transvaal, welcomes with enthusiasm the plan to hold the great Congress of the People. We believe that this campaign, drawing in every section of the population and reaching to every comer of the land, will raise to new heights the struggle of our people for freedom and democracy. We, therefore, resolve to do all in our power to spread the message of the COP and to gather in the demands of our people for the Freedom Charter, and, in particular, we are determined to implement the call from Chief Luthuli for 15,000 volunteers from the Transvaal.

At the end of the conference the Transvaal Action Council (TAC) for the COP was elected on the model of the National Action Council. E.P. Moretsele was elected chairperson of the TAC and A.E. Patel its secretary. Some other members serving on the TAC were:

J.Sibande, R.Press, A.Kathrada, H.Barzel, V.Weinberg, S.Saley, S.Lollan, B-Maliwa, E.Motsoaledi, R-Resha, G.Motsabi, G.Matseke, S.Shall, H-Feinstein and S.S. le Pere.

Freddie Morris was subsequently appointed the provincial organiser for the COP in the Transvaal. At a later stage representatives of the Food and Canning Workers Union and the Council of Non-European Trade Unions were given full representation on the TAC, and by March 1955 the Resist Apartheid Committee had merged with the provincial COP structure so as to better coordinate the campaign as the COP drew closer.

The TAC met on a weekly basis following its formation, but very rarely did its full complement attend after the initial meetings. For the better part of its existence a consistent core of two or three persons from each of the sponsoring organs met regularly. It is not clear whether this was a collective decision to make the TAC more functional, or whether some participants failed to take a consistent interest in the development of the campaign. The latter explanation seems to apply after January 1955. A letter to the ANC secretary in the Transvaal from the NAC recommended that the Transvaal Executive Committees of the sponsoring organisations should constitute themselves into the TAC. The reason for the above decision is the fact that the progress of the COP in the Transvaal is not very encouraging and that the COP shall be held in the Transvaal. We believe that if the work is undertaken by the full executives, the position will be considerably improved.

What is also unclear is the relationship between the TAC and members of the Congress leadership such as Marks, Mandela, Sisulu, Dadoo and others, all of whom had been forced out of formal political activity due to bans and restrictions. The names of people serving on the TAC indicate that the majority represented a "new layer of leadership" and these were in direct informal consultation with the "first level leadership". For example, and activist in the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress (TIYC) at mat time vividly remembers Moses Kotane addressing an informal meeting on the COP. Similarly, Dr. Dadoo and other restricted TIC leaders had been kept informed regularly of political developments, problems and issues through Ahmed Kathrada who served on the TIC, TIYC and the TAC.

A full meeting of the TAC and branch secretaries of sponsoring organisations on 21 August 1954 endorsed a detailed plan for the campaign that was drawn up by the TAC, and agreed to the division of the Transvaal into 15 regions. These were:

1) MARICO - RUSTENBURG: Zeerust, Groot Marico, Ottosloop, Rustenburg, Thabazimbi;

2) LICHTENBERG - BLOEMHOF - WOLMARANSTAD:

    Lichtenberg, Coligny, Delareysville, Bloemhof, Taungs, Scweizer-Reneke, Wolmaranstad, Christiana, Maquasi;

3) POTCHEFSTROOM: Potchefstroom. Klerksdorp, Ventersdorp, Orkney, Biyvooruitzicht;

4) WATERBERG: Nylstroom, Potgietersrust, Warmbaths, Naboomspruit;

5) PRETORIA: Pretoria, Brits, and Bronkhorstspruit;

6) JOHANNESBURG: Western Region - Sophiatown, Newclare, Coronationville, and Western Native Township;

    SOUTH WESTERN REGION - Dube, Pimville, Moroka, Jabavu, Orlando, White City, Kliptown, Albertsville;

    NORTHERN REGION - Alexandra, Kensington, Wynberg;

    CENTRAL- REGION - Fordsburg, Vrededorp, City and all suburbs;

7) WEST RAND: Krugersdorp, Florida, Randfontein, Roodepoort, Maraisburg;

8) EAST RAND: Genniston, Natalspruit, Edenvale, Alberton, Kempton Park, Modderfontein, Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Springs, Delmas;

9) HEIDELBERG - VEREENIGING: Heidelberg, Vereeniging, Balfour, Greylingstad, Nigel, Vanderbijlpark, Meyerton, Evaton;

10) ZOUTPANSBERG - LETABA: Pietersburg, Leydsdorp, Louis Trichardt, Tzaneen, Messina;

11) BETHAL - ERMELO: Bethal, Ermelo, Amsterdam;

12) MIDDELBURG: Middelburg, Komdraai, Oogies, Witbank;

13) BARBERTON - CAROLINA: White River, Barberton, Nelspruit, Komatipoort, Machadodorp, Carolina;

14) STANDERTON - WAKKERSTROOM - Piet Retief: Standerton, Volksrust, Amersfoort, Wakkerstroom, Piet Retief; and

15) LYDENBURG - SEKUKUNILAND: Lydenburg, Belfast, Ohrigstad, Pilgrims Rest.

The objective of this division was to coordinate the COP campaign on a decentralised basis through regional COP committees, and to extend the Congress's organisational presence throughout the Transvaal.

Campaign in the Urban Areas

The first phase of the campaign entailed large scale distribution of the Call to the Congress of the People and the explanation of the COP to the activists and masses, the enrolment of Freedom Volunteers and the creation of regional and local COP committees.

By September 1954 a Volunteer Board had been established specifically to enrol volunteers, to recruit supporters for the campaign, to provide a basic education on the nature, scope and political objectives of the COP campaign, and to ensure that organisations were ready to begin the campaign at a mass level. R. Resha, A. Kathrada, H. Feinstein and S. Shall constituted the Volunteer Board. A booklet entitled Welcome Freedom Volunteer was distributed to every volunteer, and members of the Volunteer Board led discussions. The booklet described the volunteer as "something special", a "student and a teacher of freedom". It emphasised the need for discipline and loyalty to the Congresses, the need to build unity between the Congresses and all sections of the population, to strengthen organisation, to inform and educate the masses, to listen and lead them into struggle."

Between September and November 1954, the Volunteer Board had engaged in an intensive phase of activity. Volunteer meetings were held in Sophiatown; Western Native Township, Alexandra, Germiston, Orlando, Moroka, White City, Jabavu, Newclare, Dube, Pimville, Eastern Native Township, Heidelberg, Coronationville, Kliptown, Central Johannesburg, Krugersdorp, Randfontein, Roodepoort, Natalspruit, Edenvale, Alberton, Boksburg, Benoni, Brakpan, Springs and Pretoria. At these meetings Freedom Volunteers were officially registered and a "volunteer oath" sworn. In Pretoria, for example, 166 volunteers were registered at one meeting, and their immediate task was to distribute THE CALL TO THE COP." In addition. Freedom Volunteers also had to distribute a fortnightly bulletin called FORWARD TO FREEDOM issued by the TAC, which explained political developments and the progress of me COP campaign.

The Freedom Volunteers had to work towards establishing and deepening organisation. It became their responsibility to establish regional and local COP committees, preferably before the end of November 1954. Guidelines prepared by the TAC suggested that priority had to be given to the establishment of regional COP committees on the East Rand, West Rand, Johannesburg and Pretoria. "With regard to the remaining regions, especially the rural areas and reserves, a call will have to be made to the Witwatersrand volunteers to give their part time services. Arrangements must be made forthwith for the Transvaal (ANC) President, Moretsele, and someone else, for a two-week tour to all the reserves in the Transvaal . . . with a view to establishing contacts and small committees, especially in large reserves such as Sekhukhuneland, which also happens to be his home."

The formation of these regional and local COP committees, however, proved to be a slower and more difficult task than was anticipated by TAC. For example, the National Action Council of the COP had to urge all provincial and regional committees that "by 30 January 1955 local and regional committees of the COP must be established." By March 1955 the province had only five out of fifteen operational regional committees, all located in the main urban centres, viz., Johannesburg Central, Pretoria, East Rand, West Rand and Evation. In these cases existing Congress branches and networks were 'transformed' into regional committees. In the absence of established contacts and networks beyond the Pretoria— Witwatersrand—Vereeniging industrial complex, the aim of quickly setting up coordinating structures was unrealistic. However, what must be recognised (and will be discussed later in this chapter) is that through the COP campaign the first systematic attempt was made by the Congresses to reach out to the vast rural stretches of the Transvaal.

The functions of the local COP committees were to propagate the idea of the COP and clarify its scope and character through meetings and leaflets, to educate Freedom Volunteers, to provide a coordinating centre for COP activities, to gather demands at a local level and to organise local elections for delegates to attend the COP.

These committees must make certain that every one around them, workers, peasants, housewives, students, teachers know what the COP is and why they must send in their demands to the Congress. These committees must help ANC committees to make certain that every reads the CALL TO THE COP, the bulletins, the pamphlets and lecture notes. These committees must see that all demands to be put into the Freedom Charter are sent to the provincial councils now.

In most instances existing branches and activist cores of the ANC, ANCYL, ANCWL, TIC, TIYC, SACPO and COD pooled their human and financial resources and set up local COP committees to carry out the day-to-day organisational tasks relating to the campaign. At the end of the campaign the NAC noted that "only a negligible number of local committees were set up. Our failure to do this resulted in the COP not being as representative as it might otherwise have been. It must however be recorded that in a number of areas the existing units of the sponsoring organisations were strengthened and activised as a result of the COP campaign." But the extent of organisational work undertaken at a local, grassroots level—as is borne by the interviews in Suttner and Cronin's book as well as my own-should not be underestimated. Between the four Congresses there was an organisational presence—however uneven—in over fifty areas, and campaign work appears to have been undertaken in most of them.

Of the five regional COP committees, the Johannesburg Central Regional Committee was the most active and organised. Serving on the committee were S. Esakjee, 'Mervie' Thandray, F Adams, M. Goldberg, June Shabangu, P. Mathole, F. Morris, Sophie Williams and L. Morrison. The COP bulletin Speaking Together, described the activities of volunteers as follows:

"The Call leaflet is being spread throughout Johannesburg by volunteers, who call house to house in Orlando and other areas, and who talk to everyone they meet in the townships." Eliot Shabangu, who called himself an "active organiser street level" in Dube, was an ANC and SACTU activist. He explained that the ANC Dube branch members and volunteers constituted a local COP committee and divided the area into four blocks for the purposes of organising house-to-house visits and distributing political propaganda.

Similarly, Phillip Matthews remembered going "house-to-house and door-to door delivering leaflets" in Orlando West. "We would sit down and talk to people about the COP. Some people wanted to know why we are joining up with (democratic) whites when they were oppressing them. So we had to explain the need for this and discuss with people the role of the Congress of Democrats"

Podile Kgasago, Chairperson of the ANC Mofolo branch in 1955, recounted that five delegates represented the branch at the Congress of the People. Volunteers went "house—to house speaking to people and public meetings were held" to discuss the COP. As many people had been recently resettled in Mofolo they spoke about the "skeleton houses, which had no plaster, no electricity and no tiles, etc." In addition, they thought that the "rents were too high" and they spoke out against removals and Bantu education.

Reggie Vandeyar and Suliman Esakjee, both TIC activists, recounted that "extensive work" was done by the TIC in Fordsburg, Vrededorp, Doornfontein, Alexandra Township, Jeppe, Malay Camp, Asiatic Bazaar/ Pretoria , Sophiatown, Newclare, Martindale, Benoni, Nigel, Springs, Germiston, Kliptown , Denver, Newlands, Turfontein, Ophirton, and in Coronationville, Noordgesig and Albertsville with SACPO. Initially groups of volunteers would go out to distribute "advanced propaganda" and to discuss the campaign with residents on a house-to-house basis. Thereafter, depending on the strength of the organisation in the area, a public meeting or house meeting would be convened to elaborate on the campaign, to explain what was expected from the people and to emphasise the need for direct participation of the people in the campaign either as volunteers or by the submitting of demands and the election of delegates. These meetings often discussed political issues of the day such as the introduction of Bantu Education, the threat of removals from Western Areas and local grievances.

Esakjee recalls the link between the COP campaign and the Anti-Western Areas Removal Campaign:

" ... (at) that time there was a big uproar about the removal of Sophiatown. The people being under the threat of being removed made more demands. First of all, the demand, 'we don't want to be moved'. We combined both campaigns". David Mahopo, a Sophiatown resident at the time, corroborated this viewpoint: "In Sophiatown, we were organising by street... and telling them about the COP and collecting demands. We have leaders in every street. They first go to each house. After that they call a meeting in a certain house in a street. They get demands at these meetings."

But it was the failure of the Congress movement as a whole to defend the people of Sophiatown and provide effective action-orientated leadership in the face of enforced removals that drew the following honest, self-critical assessment of the Anti-Western Areas Removal Campaign from the NAC; "(the Congresses) at no stage managed successfully to link the COP with the day-today struggles of the people. Had we worked properly in this regard the campaign, e.g., against the removal scheme, instead of bringing the COP to a virtual standstill in the Transvaal, would have raised it to greater heights".

Ellen Lambert, official of the South African Coloured People's Organisation, recollected the challenging, but rewarding, task of organising in the Transvaal Coloured sector. "I worked in Fordsburg, Malay Camp, Albertsville, Coronationville, Newclare, Noordgesig and Ferreirastown". For her the "whole motive" behind the campaign was to politicise people. "Among the older people, we had a tough time, because they refused to listen to us. They would say, 'Julle is communist' (You are communists). But the younger people, the garment workers, they understood. The people in Coronationville particularly expressed their views". Confronted by deeply entrenched racist tendencies among some, the struggle of ideas and the need to change consciousness and build SACPO became more apparent to her.

So you go to the door and say, "I'm from SACPO". People would respond, "Nou wat is dit nou?" "I'll then say we are involved with the ANC". "Maarjulle is met die kaffers and koelies. Nee man, ek will nie luister nie." So we had a real tough time.... There were other people who genuinely wanted to better their position. At No. 4 Marshall Street there were something like 42 rooms and in each room, in some instances, there were families with sons and daughters J who were married.... We'd speak to the people there about the conditions under which they were living. Did they think, it was right for people to live like that? They'd agree and also question why they had to live like that. Part of the problem, according to Lambert, was that Acre was not any real tradition of resistance amongst coloureds in the Transvaal. "The people in the Cape were more politicized," she noted.

Secondly, SACPO was a recently formed organisation, and in the Transvaal it was weakly rooted among the coloured people.

A leaflet issued by SACPO stated:

The African and Indian sections of the oppressed non-European people have made great strides in the fight for freedom by organising their people and establishing an ANC and a SAIC, respectively. But what about the Coloured people? Can we point to any organisation of our own which can take its place with the ANC, SAIC and the SACOD and other democratic organisations in the common struggle? Or are we so childish so as to believe that the oppressive measures launched by the government do not affect us? The leaflet continued by urging that the coloured people join SACPO and "enter the struggle to make S.A. a land of freedom. Protect your homes' Protect the future of your children. Support the Congress of the People".

To a large extent me various Congresses took responsibility for their own sectors and people. But there were instances when non-racial groupings of volunteers campaigned jointly and ensured that at least one person could speak the vernacular so as to facilitate communication and engage in meaningful discussions. Vandeyar provided the following explanation:

In many areas we went out in linguistic groups—Gugarati, Urdu, Tamil, etc.—so as to facilitate communication with ordinary elderly people as well. Sometimes an interpreter went with us. When we went to African areas this was important. A fair amount of work was done with African comrades. When we went to Alexandra and Kliptown, for instance, Indian and African comrades went together. I must add that African comrades did not work in Indian areas.

Although reflecting on it now, I think it would have been a healthy sort of thing. In some areas there were racially mixed residents. This was very healthy and people responded quite well to a mixed activist grouping. Political activity and campaigning in the white sector was more challenging and less productive. For example, COD branches in Hillbrow, Bellevue and the Northern Areas had "constituted themselves as COP local committees" and called up "eleven house meetings of contacts and sympathisers to tell them about the COP and to gather in demand?" The attendance at these meetings was "rather small" and the COD ruled out the possibilities of holding further meetings, concluding that "it is very difficult to get Europeans to attend (COP) meetings."

What is evident is that the Johannesburg Central Regional Committee acted as the backbone of the COP campaign in the Transvaal. Having under its direction several hundred volunteers drawn from the ranks of the four Congresses and the trade unions, it was able to muster volunteer teams or units to play a supportive role in other urban townships beyond Johannesburg as well as send out units to the rural stretches of the province.

Primary research material on the remaining urban areas is extremely thin and what follows, therefore, is a bare sketch of the campaign on the East and West Rands and in Pretoria and Evaton. It appears that these areas experienced greater difficulties in organising the campaign and setting up regional coordinating structures. The regional COP committees in these areas were only established in 1955. In the case of the East Rand, J. Nkadimeng reported to the TAC in January 1955 that the volunteers there requested permission to establish an East Rand Regional Committee. This committee, as well as those in the West Rand and Evaton, were only formed in March 1955.

The reasons for these organisational delays were twofold. Firstly, in areas outside of Johannesburg, the organisational responsibility for the campaign rested mainly on the ANC branches, as both the TIC and/or the SACPO had very narrow organisational bases in Evaton, Benoni, Pretoria and Krugersdorp. Here the ANC lacked the active organisational support and alliance that it enjoyed in the Johannesburg region. Secondly, in the case of the East Rand particularly, the Bantu Education boycott had become the main focus of political activity in late 1954 and early 1955, consequently absorbing the political energy and efforts of the ANC branches and political networks.

The West Rand Regional Committee was fully active I May 1955 and was composed of one SACPO representative, two TIC activists and seven ANC members from Krugersdorp and Roodepoort. It had employed its regional secretary, K. Mpho, as a fulltime organiser from May 1955, and he was instructed to visit Luipaardsvlei, Cape Coloured Section, Randfontein, Venterspost and Krugersdorp. It had also established a three-person transport committee, which was to be responsible for the transportation of delegates to the COP. 31 Esakjee and Cajee recalled a key TIC activist in the West Rand, Salim Saley, and the COP committee there being active in Luipaardsvlei, Munsieville, Wolmaranstad and Krugersdorp.

The Pretoria Regional Action Committee was only established in early 1955, and before its formation virtually no COP activity was undertaken in the area. The main reason for this was that the Pretoria ANC branch executive committee had resigned in 1953 due to a financial dispute with the ANC head office in Johannesburg. However, due to the efforts of the remaining loyal ANC members, most notably Peter Magano, a Pretoria Action Committee had been established with the following members:

David Rapudi, Peter Magano, Simon Brander, George Mboweni and Griffiths Theko in the time that was left before the Congress of the People, the Pretoria Action Committee had succeeded in popularising the COP and gathering demands. The methods used included regular Sunday meetings at the Freedom Square in Lady Selborne, house-to-house campaigning and small meetings with organisations such as the "Mokhaliso" (Sunday gatherings of men in streets) and the "Manyano" (women's church groups). The areas in which the campaign was conducted were Lady Selborne, Atteridgeville, East-wood, Mamelodi, Eersterus, Riverside and Storm.

Trade union activity in the area had been negligible, apart from the union work carried out in the name of the General Workers' Union led by one Stephen Tefu. Mogano recounted that the trade unions were "very weak" and the majority of the workers were "disillusioned with the General Workers' Union" because of Tefu's poor handling of the Deluxe Laundry workers' strike and politically "dishonest approach". Despite these shortcomings, the COP campaign, together with the women's protests against passes, stimulated political activity in Pretoria "so much so that the Special Branch put its effort on Lady Selborne".

In Evaton, the TIC had a strong presence among the 100 odd Indian families, all of whom were active supporters of the organisation. The octogenarian, Ismail Jada, remembers that Mohammed 'Bob' Asmal, Suliman Nathie and Daya Gopal served with him on the TIC Evaton COP Committee, but was unable to provide details about the methods of mobilisation and the degree of participation by the people of Evaton in the campaign. Being a small constituency it is likely that the area was intensively covered with full discussions with families. Jada also remembers that "good contact" was maintained with the ANC in the Evaton township, but could not remember the names of the leadership.

These delays in the formation of regional COP committees does not necessarily imply that campaigning for the COP was non-existent in the locations on the outskirts of Johannesburg. In a number of areas local COP committees had been formed by late 1954 and the campaign for the COP had been launched in one way or another. Freddie Morris had visited Boksburg, Benoni, Germiston, Krugersdorp and Klerksdorp, and reported to the TAC that local COP committees had been set up in Lady Selborne, Germiston and Klerksdorp. Likewise; the mid-September 1954 issue of Speaking Together reported the existence of a local COP committee in Germiston.

These local committees seemed to have experienced numerous organisational difficulties. One such difficulty appears to be the misconception on the part of some committees as to the exact nature of the Congress of the People. Freddie Morris noted in his report that from "all the branches that I have visited it has been my knowledge that the people know about the COP, but take it to be a different organisation from the ANC. This has come not only from individuals, but from branch officials as well, despite the conferences that were held at the Trades Hall where the delegates were explained what the COP is " This indicates that some volunteers understood the campaign to mean the creation of a new organisation embracing different racial groups, which would replace the ANC. Obviously, to have organised for such a task would have appeared to be a daunting responsibility.

Another problem was the weakness of the existing ANC branches, which found it difficult to conduct a campaign for a prolonged period. As late as May 1955 the TAC secretary, P. Mathole, urged the Pretoria volunteers to persist with the campaign. His letter added that "we fully appreciate your difficulties in organising for the Congress of the People... and we hope that your region will find itself in a position to double the efforts in organising the people of Pretoria... in spite of the difficulties." The weakness of the Pretoria area is attested to by Esakjee who said, "Congress was not strong in Pretoria" and that the activists from "Johannesburg had to assist the region. "In contrast, volunteers from Orlando who went to the East Rand reported that Brakpan "was strong", but "Benoni was weak".

What emerges thus far is that in the suburbs and locations immediately surrounding Johannesburg, the campaign was both extensive and intensive in character. Apart from the normal distribution of leaflets and COP propaganda the regional and local COP committees had established direct, personal contact with the urban masses with the aim of popularising the COP in the last quarter of 1954. A variety of methods were used in this regard, ranging from public rallies, conferences, house-to-house visits, street-corner discussions and house meetings- These were to continue in the months to follow, although the purpose later was to either collect demands or elect delegates to the COP itself. In the outlying urban areas, however. Regional COP Committees were only established some time in 1955, although there is evidence to suggest that local COP committees linked directly to active ANC branches were functioning simultaneously with and along the lines of those in the Johannesburg area.

The Campaign in the Rural Areas

The approach to political work in the unorganised rural areas of the Transvaal was radically different from the methods employed in the urban centres, which had been seething with political discontent and militancy for over a decade. Moreover, Congress forces had themselves failed to establish a sound organisational presence in any particular area and to pay attention to the organisation and mobilisation of rural dwellers and workers, labour-tenants and squatters. Colin Bundy asserts that "although in the late 1940s an ANC presence of sorts was established in the Ciskei and in Rustenburg, Pietersburg and Sekhukhuneland, Walshe concludes that until 1952 the ANC encountered 'virtually insurmountable difficulties' "in extending its activities to the rural areas". Bundy adds that... one of the most striking aspects of the strategy and tactics of the Congress Alliance during the 1950s was the increasing weight and emphasis that came to be given to the rural struggle, frequently coupled with frank criticisms of the liberation movement's prior weakness in this regard. In so far as there was a fundamental reason for this important shift, it appears to have been, simply, that the incidence and intensity of rural resistance in the 1940s and 1950s made it impossible for the urban movement not to respond.

The view is supported by Lodge who argues that "despite the evidence of a degree of sensitivity to rural tensions. Congress during the 1950s would do little to exploit them. Its organisational vulnerability apart, its social and ideological orientation during the 1950s helped to distance it from rural culture." Beinart has also noted that 'the ANC strategy at that moment did not, at least for him (character M), succeed in translating rural issues into the broader programme nor in exposing the underlying patterns of exploitation in the South African economy... Activists were now seeking to mobilise a mass movement through campaigns and not essentially on working class and peasant issues, but on national and racial questions." In contrast, Suttner and Cronin seem to suggest that the COP campaign signified a crucial development for the Congresses in relation to the rural areas. The "Congress Alliance, through its expansion into the rural areas, was transformed into a national movement during the COP campaign."

It seems to me that both positions are only partially correct, and need to be qualified. It is true that the ANC in particular had failed to entrench its organisation in the rural areas, but that does not mean that it was altogether denied a political influence and presence through chiefs that supported it traditionally, politicised migrant workers, ANC leaders that came from rural backgrounds and urban activists travelling to rural areas. In an instructive article on Pedi migrants, Delius has drawn attention to the roles of the ANC and the SACP establishing in 1954 a migrant worker organisation called "Sebatakgomo", which "won widespread migrant support and played a key role in organising and sustaining the resistance in the eastern Transvaal." In the light of his research, Delius hi correctly called for a "reassessment" of the wider role of the ANC in rural resistance.

As will be seen below the Congresses made concerted efforts t during the COP campaign to penetrate the rural areas, although ' they later failed to follow up on a consistent basis. In the Transvaal, for instance, evidence shows that teams of volunteers had on several occasions visited the rural districts in the Eastern, Western and Northern Transvaal during 1954 and 1955. The report that the 'rural COP teams' had prepared would have certainly informed the national liberation movement of the issues, demands, needs and conditions of existence of rural dwellers, of the tensions and conflicts that were emerging in the rural reserves, and sensitised it to develop a coherent response.

The importance attached to the participation of the 'rural masses' in the COP campaign is evident from the direct appeal made in the first paragraph of THE CALL TO THE CONGRESS OF THE PEOPLE to the workers and labourers and peasants in the reserves. It reads:

We call the farmers of the Reserves and Trust Lands:

Let us speak of the wide land, and the narrow strips on which we toil.

Let us speak of brothers without land, and of children without schooling.

Let us speak of taxes and of cattle and of famine. Let us speak of freedom.

This rural appeal is reiterated in the third paragraph of THE CALL:

We call the workers of farms and forests:

Let us speak of the rich foods we grow, and the laws that keep us poor.

Let us speak of the harsh treatment and of the children and women forced to work.

Let us speak of private prisons and beatings and of passes.

Let us speak of freedom.

That the demand for more land struck a vital chord in the hearts of rural dwellers on Trust Lands — faced with enforced resettlement, demarcations of arable and grazing lands, the culling of livestock and the destruction of established communities - is quite clear. Several interviews in Suttner and Cronin's 30 Years of the Freedom Charter reveal that "the first question was the land" and people spoke about "not having land of their own".

The first phase of work for the COP campaign in rural areas involved identifying and establishing contacts in the villages, reserves and districts, speaking to people about the history of the Congresses and gradually explaining the aims and goals of the Congress of the People. Care had to be taken that these were not abstract matters, and discussions had to be linked to the concrete experiences of Africans in the rural areas, most cases, volunteers had to 'work through' individuals exercising influence over the community such as chiefs, councillors serving on Advisory Boards, priests, educationalists or relatives. The processes generally were the same. Once a sympathetic 'opinion-maker' was found, meetings of sympathisers or the village as a whole would be held where the COP would be explained and the need for participation from the rural areas stressed. This view is supported by Wilson Fanti who worked in the Transkei and Pondoland:

.... it was very difficult work. The volunteer would take a long time to find a way of approaching that particular group, or that particular person, or that particular chief. A person coming from outside your (rural) area you do not accept unless the chief has introduced you to him. Some of the chiefs were pro-government; they didn't want to accept these things. So in that area you had to seek another means of getting to the people behind the chief.... You have to try and try just to get one, a prominent person from that area. Then teach that person. That person, because of his respect with the other people, if he brings this issue, then people will accept it.

Finally, a few leaflets would be distributed, and a small grouping of individuals was asked to constitute an ad hoc local committee, which would correspond with the Johannesburg Congress office. What follows are brief descriptions of the itineraries of rural 'organisers' for the COP, and the reports are presented in detail so as to flesh out the methods and patterns of mobilisation in the course of the campaign.

David Mahopo, who was born in Pietersburg, undertook a trip to the Northern Transvaal in November 1954 and submitted a comprehensive report to the Transvaal Action Council.

On 12 November 1954 Mahopo reached Potgietersrust and made contact with a certain Mr. Makonyane, vice-chairman of the local Advisory Board. He later addressed a meeting of me Advisory Board where he explained me origins, objectives and purpose of the COP. After a discussion the Advisory Board agreed to act as the local COP committee and W.H. Makonyane was appointed its secretary. He also met chiefs from the area and one of them, Seleka, "welcomed the COP and invited me (Mahopo) to come and explain the COP to his people at a later date."

One the 14 November 1954, Mahopo reached Naboomspruit, where he met Mr. Khabo, who introduced him to members of the Advisory Board. He provided a background to the COP and they "agreed to serve as a local COP committee" and "undertake a house-to-house drive soon". A certain S. M. Malatje was elected as secretary of the local COP committee.

Mahopo then moved to Nylstroom where he met the principal of the Methodist School, Mr. Mohapi, who regarded himself as an "old ANC member". Mahopi had "already received the bulletins of the Congress of the People as well as The Call" and the latter publication had already been distributed. The principal informed Mahopo that "after three days police came from Naboomspruit to enquire about the distribution of the leaflets. A schoolboy was found in possession of a leaflet and was questioned. He replied that he picked up the leaflet from the street. The people were asked to please inform the police as soon as they came across anybody distributing pamphlets bearing a symbol of the wheel." Nevertheless, Mohapi and a few colleagues constituted a local COP structure.

Mahopo was unable to gain entry into Hammanskraal. Instead, he met Mr. Mathipe, the principal of Mahobane Public School in Mahobanestad. According to the report, the education head "welcomed the COP", agreed to act as the contact person and promised to set up a local COP committee.

On 18 November 1954, Mahopo held a successful meeting with the Chief of Mathibestad, his brothers and councillors, all of whom "expressed the opinion that the COP was a very good thing". They requested that Mahopo stay over for a few days so that they could organise a meeting of the tribe to discuss the COP. Mahopo regretfully declined the offer as he had made travel arrangements to cover another area. Finally, Mahopo met a teacher, Mr. Kgafe, from Makapanstad who expressed his reluctance to engage in political activity. He, nevertheless, took some copies of The Call to school. "A few hours later a child was sent to come and get more Calls. Later on I was approached by some of the teachers who volunteered to organise for the COP provided Chief Makapani would allow them to do so." Mahopo was never able to meet the chief, as he "had to rush the Mathibestad to catch the next bus to Hammanskraal on my way home."

In his concluding remarks, Mahopo recommended that activists spend at least a month in the reserves to organise in the rural areas and listed me key issues confronting rural settlements in the province.

"At all places I have visited people who knew what the ANC was were keen to join. Those who had a vague idea were equally eager to know what it is and how it could assist them in their difficulties, such as the gradual taking away of the land by the government, the influx control in the urban areas which had brought misery and starvation as the men are daily being endorsed out of the towns and are now wandering in the reserves. People are also worried about Bantu education. The chiefs are now to get Congress to send its organisers to the reserves." In his interview with Suttner in January 1985, Mahopo confirmed that he had visited Pietersburg, Potgietersrust, Pienaars River, Warmbaths and Hammanskraal.

A letter written by Henry Tshabalala to the Volunteer Board reported on the progress of a volunteer team that went to the Brits/Rustenburg area. At Brits they made contact with one Mr. Tsokwe, a schoolteacher and secretary of the Advisory Board. The report stressed that Tsokwe did not want it to be publicly known that he was associated with Congress and suggested that in matters relating to COP activities, he be addressed as Thomas M. Rankoko. "Mr. Tsokwe is taking up the duty of the COP but wants this to be observed by Cc ... he wants to form, as Congress requires, a committee at Brits, therefore, he requests Congress to sent two or three men from Congress to talk to these (his) committee members about the duty and aim of the COP." From there the volunteers travelled to Bleskop Mines and secured the support of Rev. Masuku or the Dutch Reformed Church and Mr. Thembu of the Bleskop School, Rustenburg. They also established a "strong contact" by the name of Johannes Mokwena at Waaikraal.

A similar, less detailed report was presented by volunteers who worked in Doornfontein, but had to conduct a "COP tour" beginning on 24 October 1954 to Zeerust, Groot Marico, Rustenburg, Lichtenberg and Ventersdorp. In Zeerust the group was unable to find the contact person. They met two other persons who agreed to "carry out COP activity" and distribute on a ‘house-to-house ' basis COP bulletins.

In Groot Marico, the group had made contact with a reverend who convened a meeting of the community. Fifty people attended it and supported the idea of the COP. They also "promised to do all necessary work in preparation for the COP."

In Rustenburg the group had made independent contacts who "promised to help organise for the COP", In Lichtenberg they secured Andrew Bodile, a member of the Advisory Board, Mr. Moloka and E. Abed (from the Indian community) as future contacts for COP activities. In Ventersdorp B. Divake and W. Selebago also agreed to serve as contacts.

Whilst it has been difficult to get an accurate insight into the processes that unfolded after these initial introductions to the COP, there is limited evidence to suggest that the interest in the Congress of the People, particularly in the districts around Rustenburg, remained strong. For example, credential forms accrediting delegates from Johannesburg to speak on behalf of small chiefdoms in the Rustenburg area revealed substantial participation of the rural population in electing and mandating delegates to the Congress of the People. Forty-two people representing 9,000 tribesmen of the Baphalane tribe in Renokokskraal, Rustenburg, voted on 19 June 1955 for Jonas Matlou of Sophiatown "to speak for us at the COP on June 25 and 26, 1955, in Kliptown, Johannesburg." Similarly, 5,000 people of Mabieskraal, Rustenburg voted on 12 June 1955 for P. Mathoneng to "speak for (them) at the COP". Fifty members of the Rustenburg Inter-Tribal Farmers' Association also voted on 16 June 1955 for Matlou to represent them at me COP, and speak on the "following matters in the Freedom Charter in our name:

against Bantu Education Act, against reference books, for free travelling, for more facilities for re-cultivation and grazing, for direct representation in parliament by our own people, and for equal education for all races.

Amin Cajee also recollects going to me Western Transvaal areas of Vryburg and Schweizer-Reneke (his birthplace) where he re-established contact with those who had participated in the Defiance Campaign, and got them to collect demands for the COP. He remembered that in the reserves the "cattle dipping issue came up... and wages were very little. Sometimes (labourers) got ten shillings a week." About the organisation of the COP in the Eastern Transvaal, the kingpin was Gert Sibande, known to the Congressites as the "Lion of the East". The TAC employed Sibande and Mahosi as full-time organisers, for the Eastern Transvaal for the period May - June 1955. (56) Assisting them were Esakjee, Amin Cajee, Suliman Saloojee and Mac Donald Maseko. Cajee and Esakjee recollected that the areas they covered were Belfast, Breyten, Carolina, Bethal, Barberton, Nelspruit, Witbank, Standerton, Ermelo and Middleburg. Esakjee recounted to Suttner that in most cases the initial objective was "setting up teams, committees in all African townships" that would continue with the COP campaigning after their departure. Commenting on the processes mat unfolded and the significance of their work during their campaign Esakjee made the following points:

"... in these rural areas people were got together on the farms. These were mainly Africans and Gert would explain to them what the COP was, and collect demands." In various areas, "some chiefs were supportive", but it was the "priests that were very helpful. They would gather people and set up meetings in kraals, where delegates were elected to attend the 'big indaba' and pennies collected to help with transport costs. In some areas local people had no knowledge of the Congresses. This was the first time that they were exposed to Congress, and they were very happy when people came to talk to them. This was shown in their hospitality." Participation at these meetings probably varied from area to area, but Esakjee recalls a particularly well-at meeting of about 500 people in Bethal. For him "the importance of this campaign ... was bringing the COP to the rural areas."

Beinart has also drawn attention to the complex linkages between "ethnic particularism, worker consciousness and nationalism" and elucidated, through his study of a sing individual, the political role of the 'rural migrant-worker-activist' in the urban and rural centres of resistance." Likewise, Lodge has recorded the use of the business and school boycott tactic in 1957—a result of the external influences of Witwatersrand migrants-by the people of the Bafurutshe reserve, near Zeerust, in protest against the introduction of passes to African women there." Reggie Vandeyar, remembers accompanying Thomas Nkobi on his trip to speak to hostel dwellers in the Johannesburg area about the COP campaign. But the extent and nature of migrant workers' involvement in the struggles of the rural and urban areas, and in particular their 'political functions' in the former during and after the COP campaign remain unknown, and should perhaps become the focus of ongoing research.

In addition, what remains to be investigated is the ability or otherwise of the national liberation movement to elicit the support of ordinary rural dwellers in contrast and in opposition to those chiefs and tribal elders that had opted to collaborate with the state in implementing the Bantu Authorities Act and the "rehabilitation," "betterment" and "stock limitation" programme. That tensions and conflicts did exist between a collaborative tribal elite and the local majority opposed to stringent controls and supervision on Trust Lands is dear, but the extent to which these became the central issues and foci of attention during the COP campaign remain to be examined.

The New Age carried a report saying that farm labourers in Nelspruit who call themselves "three brothers in slavery... have no voice... no more land (and) no more cattle. Our children are starving. We demand the right to live, not die. Our children want education, not 'Verwoerd' education.... We are poor brothers but we will pay for the train ticket of our delegate."

The following is a report of follow-up works in rural areas that the TAC received on 24 May 1955 from two activists who met people in Bethal, Dawel, Sukelaar and New Denmark. They promised to arrange for delegates to attend the COP. A group from Ermelo and Morgenzon had come late to the TIC office in Johannesburg and missed the discussion with others from the Eastern Transvaal. Nevertheless, they were given literature and money to return home. The TAC requested that Sibande visit Piet Retief, Amsterdam, Carolina and Witbank. They received a further report that J. Nkadimeng is "calling a meeting of people from Sekhukhuneland ... at the TIC office and will try to get letters written to all villages and chiefs in this area." The TAC was also awaiting a report from Rustenburg and BIoemhof." What I have not been able to establish is the exact nature of the work that followed the initial contact meetings.

Was an embryonic organisational network established? What was its depth and relationships with the tribal elite and ordinary rural folk. How was the ongoing contact with the Congress to be maintained in the urban centres. What was the frequency of 'rural visits' by urban activists after the COP. What role did the ANC play in the localised struggles between different groups on Trust Lands and in the reserves in the period immediately after the COP and the rural outbursts of the late 1950s and, in what form did urban struggles have an echo in the rural areas?

These questions remain unanswered. Despite these intellectual blindspots, there is no doubt that the COP campaign had served to extend and deepen the influence of the Congresses in the rural areas, and, as Fanti had said, "By going out and talking to people the volunteers just put a light in the rural areas."

Participation of Women in the Cop Campaign

The participation of women in the campaign was less extensive than was the case with other sectors of the national liberation movement, and, in part, mirrored the state of women's organisation at that time. The Federation of South African Women (FSAW) only came into existence on 17 April 1954, once the decision to hold the COP had already been taken by the Congresses. It, therefore, did not serve formally on the National Action Council. However, at its inaugural conference, the leadership had prepared for discussion and adoption a document entitled "The Women's Charter" which set out the overall political perspective and goals of the new organisation."

It was the Women's Charter that was ultimately to serve as a focus for the demands of women. It "affirmed the overriding community of interests that women shared with men, recognised that women were discriminated in society, committed the organisation for the removal of all laws and practices that discriminated against women, stressed the dual nature of women's struggle for equality—equality with men and equality in the country of their birth... and identified the women's organisation completely with the political organs of the Congress movement... "

In August 1954 the FSAW was approached by the NAC to assist with the COP. The Federation eagerly accepted this invitation. According to Walker, "the COP, held on 25/26 June 1955 provided me FSAW with the focus of activity it needed to rally women in those areas and revived their interests in the broad women's movement. It gave women an opportunity to articulate the demands that they felt should be included in the Freedom Charter. It also established the credentials of the FSAW within the Congress Alliance more securely".

The FSAW saw the COP as a 'mobilising mechanism, which would help popularise both the campaign and the new organisation to women all over South Africa. It is in this context that it agreed to assist with accommodation during the COP, as this would make the organisation "known among the township women who were approached to accommodate the delegates" of which there were to be over 2,000. The FSAW leadership urged the regions to "hold meetings and local conferences at which the idea (of the COP) could be popularised, women's delegates elected and the demands of women for incorporation within the Freedom Charter formulated".

It is unclear to what extent this instruction from the leadership was carried out in each region, but there is limited evidence to indicate that house meetings of women did take place. Thirteen women met at the Mylor House, Johannesburg, on 14 May 1955 to discuss the COP and demands were submitted to the Johannesburg Regional Committee. At this meeting also "two delegates were elected to the COP". Esakjee also recalls "group meetings of Indian women" having been organised to discuss the COP. Similarly, Helen Joseph had invited an unspecified "women's committee... (to) hold a house meeting", where a FSAW speaker would speak on the COP and a delegate be elected to represent them at the COP.

Attempts were also made to canvass women's opinion; demands during house visits conducted by male and female volunteers, although, here again, women often were not involved in the discussions. On the participation of women the COP Reggie Vendeyar recounted:

We had a number of women volunteers—not very many from the Indian Congress. Generally, the Indian women not play a very active role in the campaign. This particularly evident at the house visits. My view is women took a back seat. One has to really look at the make up of the community to understand this. The Indian fan is male-dominated and though women were present when we did house visits they did not fully participate discussions. This does not mean that they were unconcern with political issues, generally speaking. The emergence of the independent states of India and Pakistan generated wide interest and discussion, even among the women, and parallels could easily be drawn with South Africa.

But in other areas, particularly the coloured areas, found women—many being factory workers—coming with a lot of grievances, such as wages and housing. The garment workers' union was quite a strong union. They would say that our union says this and that. They would interlink our questions with demands they were making at work.

Among the African people (Alexandra Township, Newclare and Sophiatown) you'll find that the African men dominated discussions. I suppose language was a barrier and the African women sometimes remained reserved when they saw activists from other races addressing them on political issues, In those houses where people were of middle class background and where the level of education was higher, both women and men participated in the discussions."

On 29 May 1955 these processes of mobilisation culminated in a women's conference that was held at the Trades Hall in Johannesburg. The leaflet advertising the FSAW rally proclaimed that "this public meeting is being held to give women a chance to put forward their demands for the Freedom Charter." The meeting was chaired by Josie Palmer and is well documented. What follows below is a resume of proceedings of the meeting.

This is presented as the conference adopted a revealing document entitled "What Women Demand" which outlined the thinking of the 200 or so women delegates who had come from Natalspruit, Boksburg, Benoni, Springs, Sophiatown, Brakpan, Orlando and Kliptown. Various speakers at the meeting introduced specific demands, which were followed by discussions 'from the floor' and voting in support of or in opposition to by a show of hands. Mary Mkisi called for free nursery schooling for children and birth control clinics. A supporting speaker from the audience added:

"Probably our gentlemen friends here will be shocked when they hear we demand birth control, and yet we are only trying to help them. At least if we have this birth control, we will be able to bring up our children properly." Another speaker argued that having three children is a "problem—how are you going to feed these children and educate them?... When we look at the children in the streets here, hundreds of children, thousands of children running about naked, you ask yourself how much must a parent suffer for them?..."A further speaker, sensing the provocative nature of the demand and the misgivings that it might generate said, "It is just a demand we are putting in and if any woman and her husband feel that they want to give their children a future, a secure future, they are people who will go forward. I don't want anybody to go away and say we are forcing him or her."

Walker asserts that the demand for birth control clinics was highly controversial and sparked off a lively debate in Congress ranks about the role of women in the family and society. It appears that the demand was later withdrawn, but the efforts of those who put forward the demand were not entirely in vain. "Sex and sexuality were not socially sanctioned topics for public discussion, and, in raising this issue at a public meeting, the FSAW was breaking new ground.... For many, probably most Congress supporters, both male and female, female sexuality was totally bound up with the notion of child bearing and male hegemony." What this reveals is that specifically women's demands were shelved for the moment. If there had been a sufficiently powerful women's movement by the mid-1950s it is quite likely that an 'internal' struggle of ideas and values would have ensued, and, perhaps, more weight would have been added to the specific needs and demands of women. At the same time, what must also be noted is the conception that women leaders had of the primary objectives and tasks of a national women's organisation in South Africa at that time.

A leading FSAW activist argues that the women's organisation of the time "did not organise over feminist issues, but rather to participate fully in the struggle for national liberation. Feminist issues were consciously avoided as it would have proven to be both distracting and destructive". Similarly, a male activist noted that "women were organised within the fold and in the interests of the national democratic struggle."

The second speaker at the women's meeting at the Trades Hall called for the abolition of Bantu education and demanded "school feeding" schemes, "more nursery, primary and secondary schools", "special schools for handicapped children" and "vocational training and apprenticeship facilities."

A male speaker, J. Matlou, was then called upon to "speak on land, farms and reserves". He called for "the right of all people to own land and work their own farms, the development of uncultivated land, the fair distribution of land amongst all people, the mechanisation of methods of food production, the scientific improvement of land by irrigation and careful planning, control of soil erosion... and efficient organisation for the distribution and marketing of food." These demands reveal a clear conception of the needs of rural dwellers and indirectly called for a degree of centralised planning of the rural economy. But it was his later contribution that was to spark off another debate in Congress circles. Matlou motivated for "more and better lands for the reserves, schools for children in the reserves, planned agricultural development in the reserves and the abolition of migrant labour which destroy our family life by removing our husband, and destroying their health, by the conditions of their labour and the compounds in which they live."

Leading Congress members saw in this demand an unintentional acceptance of the reserves and the unequal distribution of the land along racial lines. They saw in this demand an implicit acceptance of the impoverishment of the reserves. Thus, this demand was retracted and not submitted to the NAC for consideration. Helen Joseph motivated the demand for "proper provision for the aged and sick, protection of the unemployed, the scrapping of the pass laws and the right of people to enjoy the full franchise. Finally, Rahima Moosa demanded "for all women.... the right to vote, full opportunity in all spheres of work, equal pay for equal work (and) equal right for the guardianship of our children."

The conference eventually ended with an election by show of hands of twelve delegates who were nominated by the crowd. Some of them were H. Joseph, Ms. Siboko (Orlando), Ms. Mekway, Mrs. Price (Sophiatown), Mrs. Polio (Brakpan), Mrs. Goi (Benoni), Mary Hlatswayo (Natalspruit), Mrs. Moosa (Brakpan), and Pauline Makwe (Germiston).

In the end, a comprehensive two-page document entitled "The Demands of the Women of South Africa" with the following six principal clauses was presented to the NAC:

"...education shall be free, compulsory, universal and equal for all children/all shall have the right to live where they choose, to be decently housed and to bring up their families in comfort and security. Fenced locations and ghettoes shall be abolished and the laws, which break up families, shall be repealed; all who work shall be free to form trade unions, to elect their officers, and to make arrangements with their employers; the law shall guarantee to all their right to speak, to organise, to meet together, all shall be free to travel without restriction from countryside to town, from province to province, and from South Africa abroad; and, pass laws, permits and all other laws restricting these freedoms shall be abolished".

Many of these demands were eventually to have a strong resonance in the Freedom Charter. In assessing the women's movement in the 1950s, Lodge has asserted: "This was not a feminist movement. Women were not seeking for extension of rights or an alteration in their domestic relationships and responsibilities.... The most powerful sentiment was matriarchal, captured most vividly in the magnificent phrase of Lilian Ngoyi's "My womb is shaken when they speak of Bantu education." With regard to the COP campaign itself, Suttner and Cronin have stated that in 1955 "there was less emphasis than at present on the role of women in the struggle" and that this was reflected in the "unequal participation of women in the collection of demands" and "in the relative weight of specifically women's demands in the Charter."

But the participation of the FSAW was not without significance. It placed on the agenda the aspirations and hopes— partial, as they might have been—of women in South Africa and provided a political stimulus to the newly formed national women's organisation. As Walker has evaluated, "the existence of the FSAW ensured that women were not totally excluded or overlooked at the Congress. Their participation, though limited, was not insignificant, and in the organisation of the event they had been singled out as a necessary and important area for preliminary work." The COP campaign was crucial in establishing the FSAW as a political force to reckon with and in the latter half of 1955 it "asserted itself with more confidence" and "was on the upswing".

The Role of the Black Trade Union Movement

The participation of the organised sections of workers in the COP campaign was spearheaded by the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU), which was formed in reaction to the decision of the South African Trades and Labour Council to adopt "a colour-bar constitution that would exclude African trade unions from affiliation". Considering that SACTU was formed just over three months before the COP on 5-6 March 1955, its participation in the COP campaign on a national scale was significant, and, in some regions like Natal and Eastern Cape, it was substantial. It was this active involvement of working class leaders in the organising committees, in collecting demands from workers in factories and townships" that ensured that the content of the Freedom Charter would have a "worker orientation."

From its inception SACTU welcomed the COP campaign. The following was one of the resolutions prepared by the Trade Union Coordinating Committee and proposed by the Howick Rubber Workers' Union at the inaugural conference of SACTU:

This conference welcomes the efforts of the COP to frame a Freedom Charter in which the demands of workers for improved working conditions and better wages will be incorporated. This conference instructs the National Executive Committee to attend this conference (COP) as representatives of this Congress. It further recommends to affiliated unions that they be represented by official delegates and also that they take part in their own areas in the gathering of demands and the election of delegates.

This stress on the active involvement of trade unions in the COP campaign stemmed from SACTU's conception of the interconnection between economic and political struggles in the South African context.. However, it would be appropriate to repeat very briefly the salient points of SACTU's understanding of political unionism. In his address to the Inaugural Conference, the Chairperson explained the need for a link between the struggle for economic gains and general political struggle:

"You cannot separate politics and the way in which people are governed from their bread and butter, or their freedom to move to and from places where they can find the best employment, or the houses they live in, or the type of education their children get. These things are of vital concern to the workers. The trade unions would, therefore, be neglecting the interests of their members if they failed to struggle for their members on all matters, which affect them. The trade unions must be as active in the political field as in the economic sphere, because the two hang together and cannot be isolated from each other. Hence, in 1956 SACTU adopted the following policy statement".

Whilst SACTU will thus pursue its own independent struggle for the workers' rights, it pledges full support and cooperation to all movements and organisations genuinely struggling for the removal of fascist tyranny, for the elimination of all restrictive and oppressive legislation, for the achievement of complete political liberation.

Thus the SACTU leadership openly encouraged trade union leaders, officials and membership to work in the campaign for the COP and me Freedom Charter. Its official organ. Workers' Unity, proclaimed that the "COP campaign gives us a tremendous new chance to spread the trade union message to industrial workers who have never before heard or been convinced of it" and stressed that trade unionists must not remain "aloof" from the campaign. Instead, "they must... be the heart and soul of the COP campaign amongst the industrial workers, and make the demands of the Workers for jobs, trade union rights and security of employment a vital part of the Freedom Charter that the COP is to adopt."

Whilst these guidelines were strongly supported organisationally in Natal and Cape, this was not the case in the Transvaal. In the Transvaal, trade union involvement (not necessarily working class involvement) was limited to the remarkable efforts of a handful of trade unionists like Mary Moodley, J. Nkadimeng, R. Press and L. Massina , and lacked the organisational back up of trade unions themselves. Minutes of meetings of the TAC show that although the Johannesburg-based Textile Workers' Industrial Union, the African Laundering, Dyeing and Cleaning Workers' Union and the Food and Canning Workers' Union had agreed to co-sponsor the campaign for the COP, their attendance at these provincial committee meetings was inexplicably poor. This implies mat there was virtually no direct trade union involvement at the central planning and coordination level. Likewise, the factory committee, which the TAC had established, had not made significant progress in getting more extensive trade union involvement.

The TAC welcomed the formation of SACTU saying that it was "in the true spirit of the COP."" Yet by May 1955 it regretfully remarked that "apart from getting trade unions to sponsor the Congress, it seems that no serious attempts have been made to activise these trade unions... it is essential to activise the trade unions in the preparation for the COP..... The COP must be linked up with the day-to-day issues which trade unionists are constantly taking up on behalf of their members." It further prescribed that discussions be held in "factories and trains" and that "shop stewards, committee members, union officials and factory leaders should be workers' delegates."

This low-intensity trade union participation in the province needs to be explained. At this stage only tentative and unconfirmed explanations can be advanced. Firstly, the African trade union movement had been substantially weakened after the smashing of the African miners' strike in 1946 and the repression that followed the enactment of the Suppression of Communism Act. Several highly experienced and influential trade unionists had been banned by 1954, and forced to withdraw from trade union activity. Coupled with this, Bonner and Lambert have argued that after the Second World War, notwithstanding the numerical strength of the African trade union movement, organisational flaws had become visible, and union membership had begun to decline sharply. By 1949, 66 CNETU affiliates had collapsed.

Moreover, SACTU's impact on the Rand had been lesser man in other regions, and membership had remained static and stagnant at low levels between 1956 and 1961. So, whilst the formation of SACTU signified an important ideological advance and strengthened non-racial worker unity, it was lacking in numerical and organisational strength on the Rand in the first few years of its existence. Alex Hepple, writing for SACTU in 1957, made a similar point:

"African trade unions are also weak.... African trade unions are growing—but not quite enough. The general standard of living of urban African townships is very low and will remain so until the workers are well organised and able to compel a change. The most important task to be tackled now is the building of the African trade union movement."

Secondly, the growing rifts in the South African Trades and Labour Council between 1947 and 1954 on the issue of full recognition of African trade unions, me disintegration of the registered trade union movement and the eventual dissolution of the Trades and Labour Council, and the formation of the South African Trade Union Council on the principle of African exclusion had left the trade union movement divided and further weakened. These developments, together with the passing of the Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act in 1953, had posed completely new challenges, which undeniably would have absorbed the energies and efforts of trade union leaders and officials committed to the growth of the African trade union movement. Finally, it is very probable that by hosting the Inaugural SACTU Conference in Johannesburg, the progressive trade union leadership in the province acting, as midwife to SACTU was preoccupied with its planning and organisation thereby detracting its attention away from the COP campaign specifically.

Involvement of the South African Peace Council This chapter would be incomplete if it did not examine briefly the contribution of the South African Peace Council (SAPC), non-racial organisation formed on 21 August 1953, which became in effect, an adjunct to the Congress Alliance. Although I am unable to present an in-depth analysis of the actual programme of the SAPC or the Transvaal Peace Council in support of the COP campaign, it made an important ideological contribution to the Freedom Charter embodied in the clause "There shall be Peace and Friendship".

Like SACTU and the FSAW, the Peace Movement' saw in me COP "an opportunity of reaching thousands of new people and of establishing itself on a mass basis throughout our country. 'It worked on the premise that many people, both inside and outside of the national liberation movement, held the view that South Africa was "far removed from any possible war theatre", that the activities of the SAPC were not of immediate relevance and importance and that the struggle for liberation was independent of the work for peace. It dispelled these misconceived views and convincingly argued that the "struggles for peace and liberation are indivisible" and that "every conquest won in the cause of the struggle for national liberation constitutes an advance of the peace forces over the forces of aggression" and vice versa. It accused the Union government of pursuing a war policy and of "aligning itself with military circles in order to defeat the movements for national liberation and independence, in order to prevent the victory of the forces of liberation and peace."

The SAPC thus committed itself to supporting the COP. It had hoped to use the campaign to broaden its organisational base, to educate the mass of South Africans of the link between their problems and the struggle for peace, and to expose the militaristic intentions and functions of the government. In its campaign it advanced five basic slogans:

The settlement of all international problems by negotiations an end to military alliances and their replacement by security arrangements designed to ensure peaceful coexistence, security and independence for all states; the outlawing of weapons of mass destruction and agreement on general disarmament; the closing down of war bases and withdrawal of foreign troops; and, the immediate ending of the brutal wars in Malaya and Kenya with recognition of the rights of people.

It proposed to do so by utilising the "numerous meetings organised for the COP... for putting over a peace policy" and providing speakers. Secondly, it aimed to provide articles on peace for various COP bulletins which would "encourage people to write the demands for peace into the Freedom Charter" so that peace would "become an integral part of the Freedom Charter". The efforts of the SAPC were not entirely in vain, as can be seen from a short article written by Hilda Watts in 1955:

"We shall always remember the last week of June 1955, for during this week two outstanding Congresses took place— one in South Africa, and one in Helsinski in Finland, both of them great milestones in the long history of humanity's struggle upwards towards freedom and happiness. The World Peace Assembly, meeting in Finland at the same time as our great COP met in our country was a tremendous gathering of representatives from every country of the world. They came together to discuss the vital question of peace.... The delegates at the COP were keenly aware of this question of peace. They unanimously agreed to send a telegram greeting the World Peace Assembly, and embodied in the Freedom Charter a section stating "There shall be peace and friendship".

Problems of Organisation

The first phase of the COP campaign culminated in a provincial conference on 2 December 1954 which aimed at consolidating the gains made by the Congresses over the previous months and gaining the active support of non-political organisations in the various communities. A letter from the ANC head office in Johannesburg outlined the purpose of the Conference in the following terms:

... (The) purpose of the conference is to explain and acquaint the people living in these areas with the aims and objects of the COP. And also to enlist the support of local organisations to get them to be co-sponsors for the COP and to get their members to serve in the local committees.... You are directed to invite all organisations in your areas, sporting, cultural, religious, political, women, youth and other organisations including representatives from every street and block.

The Transvaal Action Council for the COP worked intensively and actively from August 1954 to early December 1954. From the description of activities provided thus far it is apparent that a major effort had been made to popularise the Congress of the People, to recruit volunteers, to distribute educational and propaganda material, to conduct house visits in the major urban residential areas and to introduce the Congresses and the COP to the rural populace.

In the next three months, surprisingly, the campaign slackened considerably. It has not been possible to establish all the reasons for this decrease in momentum, although one reason is that the TAC itself had failed to sustain the pace of political activity in the province. This is evident from the rebuke by the NAC of the role of the TAC. "We must state frankly that the work done in the Transvaal has been most unsatisfactory, as important NAC directives sent to the Provincial Council from time to time have not been carried out. The reasons why these were not put into practice are beyond our understanding and we have to emphasise that due to the lack of activity in the Transvaal the work for the Congress of the People has suffered a great deal."

A more realistic explanation probably lies in the fact that in the Transvaal, Congress forces were confronted in early 1955 by two major political challenges, viz., the impending threat of the 'destruction of Sophiatown' and the implementation of the Bantu Education Act in April 1955. Both these issues had been on the agenda of the ANC and other Congresses since 1954, but in early 1955 it had become apparent that the South African government—under the direction of the National Party—had finally decided to demolish the black freehold suburbs in Western Areas, relocate their inhabitants in a state-controlled township and bring black education directly under its control.

The preservation of the 'non-racial' Western Areas free of the controls of local state administration was considered by the ANC to be of national importance. Sophiatown was to become the stage on which the drama of the National Party's first steps towards residential segregation and resistance to it was to be played out.

Although the Congress campaign was short-lived and resistance to forced removals still-born, the state offensive in February 1955 served to shift focus away from the COP campaign and into the plight of Sophiatown residents. In practice, this meant the mobilisation of residents against resettlement, and strengthening the unity of the contradictory interests of African landlords, tenants, gangs, Indian shop owners and those who saw in the 'new' location of Meadowlands the hope of a 'private' home and slightly improved recreational facilities. Consequently, the strong ANC Sophiatown branch and key local ANC and Youth League officials and activists in the Western Areas, like P.Q. Vundla, J. Nkadimeng, S. Tyeku, J.D. Matlou, R. Resha and J.B. Marks, were fully engaged in organising against resettlement."

Likewise, the assumption of central state control over black education had spurred the ANC to take the decision at its national conference in December 1954 to call for an indefinite boycott of schools as from 1 April 1955. It was the Sophiatown Youth League branch that took the initiative in January 1955 on the boycott campaign by hosting a meeting, which called for 1,000 volunteer teachers to provide alternative education to boycotting students. By March 1955, the ANC National Executive had called for caution and suggested the boycott be postponed to an unspecified later date. By this time already, local initiatives, particularly on the East Rand and several other black townships surrounding Johannesburg, had generated strong support for the boycott call. A tactical split between the national leadership and local activists and popular initiatives seemed inevitable.

This was eventually averted by an agreed compromise on 9 April 1955 at a Special ANC Conference held in Port Elizabeth. A central component of the decision was to allow areas where preparations for the boycott had reached an advanced stage to launch the boycott, provided that the ANC National Executive was consulted. It was in this context that by mid-April several thousand black scholars were boycotting classes in Brakpan, Benoni, Germiston, Katlehong, Alexandra, Western Native Township, Newclare, Moroka/Jabavu and Sophiatown, as well as in some small rural towns in the Eastern Cape shortly afterwards.

An indefinite schools boycott brought with it its own pressures, that of providing for an alternative educational programme in the face of police harassment and the dismissal of scholars. Once again, key elements from the ANCYL and the ANCWL in the affected areas had to meet complex demands imposed by the boycott, and understandably limit their functions in the COP campaign.

It would therefore be reasonable to assume that three factors a degree of administrative and political laxity in the TAC, the Anti-Western Areas Removal Campaign and the preparations for and responsibilities arising from the schools boycott in protest against Bantu Education—can explain the slowing down of the COP campaign in the Transvaal in the first quarter of 1955. However, after this temporary relapse, the campaign regained its momentum from March 1955, and reached a high pitch in June 1955 when the COP was held. What this meant in practice was that the processes of gathering demands and electing delegates to the COP were conducted simultaneously in this province, and constituted a single phase.

Demands for inclusion in the Freedom Charter were gathered in over a period of time and in different ways. The 'demand sheet' used by the volunteers to collect demands began with:

"We, the people of South Africa, both black and white, have an urgent task to perform. We are called upon to set down in writing those things which we would like to enjoy once freedom is won."

It then posed a set of questions, which appealed to different social groups and categories in society:

What are your demands if you are a farmer, a worker on a farm, a worker in the factory, a teacher, a student, a preacher, a mother, a bus owner, a businessman? What do you mean by freedom? Do you demand that all people regardless of race, colour, creed, religion or sex, should have the right to be elected to parliament, provincial councils, city councils? Do you believe in war or peace? Do you think that people should have the right to go where they like, to work where they like and to live where they like?

The methods used to collect demands ranged from house-to-house calls, open-air public meetings, mass rallies, house meetings, kraal meetings, factory lunch hour meetings various conferences or gatherings hosted by the Congresses and their branches. The collection of interviews in Suttner and Cronin's book provides a fascinating insight into the processes of volunteers politicising ordinary people, and, conversely,' gaining a sharper perspective of the realities of life under apartheid and capitalism as the people declared their feelings and demands.

A major problem, however, was that demands began to flow in at a late stage in the campaign. Luthuli, in his autobiography, noted that "the main disadvantage from which the preparation for this COP suffered was that local branches submitted their material for the Charter at a very late hour—too late, in fact, for the statements to be boiled down into one comprehensive statement... All the same, taken as a whole, it does give insight into the hopes and aspirations of the people who desire South Africa to be one homeland for all its inhabitants." The reason for this delay, according to Lionel Bernstein, rested with the introduction of a "new technique of mobilisation" which volunteers and the masses had to acquaint themselves with and gain experience in."

Nevertheless, in the two or three months preceding the COP demands began to flow in extensively. "On the eve of the Congress it was reported that for months now the demands had been flooding into the COP headquarters, on sheets torn from school exercise books, on little dog-eared scraps of paper, on slips torn from COP leaflets. The demands were spontaneous and were "characterised by a moving simplicity." Whatever political content that they had stemmed from the direct experiences of oppression and exploitation that people had in the country of their birth. Some of the many demands are printed in full to provide the reader with a sense of the issues and needs that were foremost in the minds of different people.

A volunteer by the name of J.M. Mhlongo recorded the following variety of demands:

Land to be given to all landless people.

Living wages and shorter hours of work.

Equal pay for equal work.

To be paid and treated without discrimination.

Free and compulsory education, irrespective of colour, race or nationality.

To trade wherever opportunity offers.

Abolition of laws, which discriminate against Non-Europeans.

The right to reside and move about freely."

The African Tobacco Workers' Union submitted the following demands:

Land for all irrespective of colour.

Higher wages, shorter hours.

Decent working conditions.

Decent houses without discrimination.

Freedom of thought and expression and assembly.

Freedom from fear.

Let us build a South Africa, which is free from scarcity, where there is political, economic, and social democracy. A democracy of content."

In a letter to the Secretary COP, the Chairman, representing 200 farmers of the Klipvoor Farmers' Association, sent in the following demands: "Freehold titles, equal voting rights, equal work equal pay, full education for all, more land, good homes, better transport, enough shops, good roads, proper farming implements, away with passes, away with racial discrimination and better living conditions."

Elizabeth Molete of Sophiatown demanded the right to own our own homes, and the land on which we built them; the right to leave (live) where we choose; housing loan schemes at low rates of interest; properly made roads and storm water drainage; better shopping facilities, particularly in the non-European townships; the right of all people to own and work their own farms; ending of the requirement to carry a pass or reference book; equal rights for all people; and, the right to vote." A similar list of demands was presented by Eric Mogosemang, who lived nearby on 60 Bertha Street, Sophiatown.

The bulletin of the Transvaal Provincial Committee of the COP, Forward to Freedom, published the following list of demands in March 1955:

"HERE IS WHAT SOME PEOPLE SAY:

1. From Roodepoort - I would like to make a law protecting the public from being assaulted by the police even when they are not resisting arrest.... People would marry whom they pleased.... I would do away with the badge of slavery, that is the passes;

2. From Coronationville—'Our children are continue being arrested for playing in the streets . . . have sports grounds, one especially for small children where all kids could play without being molested... I would see that non-Europeans be allowed to play in world federations';

3. From Bellevue—'The outlawing of weapons of mass destruction and agreements on general disarmament. .1 Admittance of non-Europeans to concerts and provide greater opportunities for cultural advancement. ... Reduction of defence expenditure; The list ends with the following call:

'Draw up your demands and send them in to us. And the time is now—There is only a short time left. So get cracking today.'

The multitude and politically variegated nature of the demands were sorted out by the regional committees and handed over to the provincial action councils. These were men submitted to the drafting committee of the NAC of the COP. The small size of the drafting committee and the 'silence' about its composition have provoked several penetrating questions about who actually shaped the social blueprint for a future South Africa. Take, for example, Lodge's comments and questions, which are reproduced here at some length:

The complication of the document must have been a complicated process and must have 'been informed by the perceptions and beliefs of those responsible. How members of the drafting committee worked, as well as the question of their identities, are not insignificant matters. Rendering thousands and thousands of demands 'into a social blueprint would have involved an order of priorities, issues of interpretation, and the values and ideas of those involved. Were they a homogeneous group ideologically and socially, were they representative of the different constituencies caught up in the Congress movement and in what fashion did they perceive their role? Joe Slovo has said that he was one of the people responsible for drafting the Charter, but who were the others? The silences on this subject in all the anniversary volumes leave untouched one of the chief topics of controversy about the Charter, the issue of whether the Charter can be read as the socially coherent programme of a particular section of the Congress movement or whether on the other hand, to quote a contemporary view of the Charter, it was a "vague haphazard document assembled from all kinds of contradictory suggestions from Congress branches."

I must confess that I have been unable to find answers to all the searching questions posed by Lodge. But a few comments by Lionel Bernstein might help to shed some light on this particular aspect of the campaign. Firstly, he confirmed that he was a member of the drafting committee. His response to question about the smallness of the drafting committee and its total composition, and the fact mat me final draft of the Freedom Charter was only made available at the last minute to the Nations Action Council on Thursday, 23 June 1955, was that these were "unimportant". He contended that the draft of the Charter had gone through "several stages of consultations"—ranging from demands flowing from grassroots level, the sifting and sorting out processes at provincial level, discussions with a wide range of leadership elements in the four Congresses in the various provinces and was finally open to ratification at the COP itself. He argued that the content of the Freedom Charter was a matter of concern to the leadership of the national liberation movement as a whole, and that it was pondered over for some time.

Finally, he expressed the view that the committee worked on the principle that it was only presenting a draft which was written over several times after consultations with various leadership elements, including those who were banned and restricted. Thus, the fact that the final draft of the Freedom Charter was only formally made available on the eve of me COP did not pose as a problem for Bernstein; in his mind, democratic processes had taken place prior to that. In the final analysis, each Congress was expected to make a thorough study of the document after the COP, and adopt or reject it at its annual conferences."

These views are echoed by an activist of the time who claimed that the "Freedom Charter was not written by one person or just a committee of five. There was substantial collective input by the leadership from all organisations and discussions were held on all areas of difficultly; then some people prepared the draft.... By no means was it a hastily drafted document— it was mulled over for some time and a great deal of discussion had taken place beforehand." He added that the "economic and nationalisation clauses" were included and were put forward by activists from various organisations. This does not mean that they did not emerge at all from the grassroots. On the contrary, economic demands were made but they were not "well worked out and presented". What must also be remembered is that "at that time the possibility of immediate transformation was hardly on the agenda. Questions such as the future of monopolies, banks, land, etc., were not on the agenda as they are today. Then people were primarily concerned with immediate issues with a vague conception of an alternative social order."

Despite these clarifications on the processes of drafting the Freedom Charter, there is still a noticeable vagueness about specific questions. What exactly were the procedures of sorting, sifting and ordering of demands at provincial levels and who were involved in them? Who were the remaining members of the drafting committee? Who were the "leadership elements" that were consulted and what were their social backgrounds and ideological affiliations? These questions remain unanswered and should be me focus of further research in the light of the dramatic political changes that have swept through South Africa since the unbanning of the ANC and the SACP in 1990.

Some critics of the Charter have also questioned the procedures for the election of delegates to the COP, claiming that an assortment of gatherings ranging from huge rallies and small house or factory meetings without a coherent set of guidelines cannot be regarded as an effective and acceptable from of democratic process. This is an important question, despite the fact that a positive, direct form of mass participation at public meetings prevailed. It will be remembered that the Joint Executives of the Congresses rejected the proposals for the establishment of a Delimitations of Constituencies Committee arguing that the Congresses did not have the organisational resources to undertake such a project.

Joe Slovo addressed this question in a speech delivered at the launching of the COP campaign in the Transvaal in July 1954 in the following manner:

"We cannot at mis stage divide up the country into units and say that those units will be able to have so many representatives, because we want every section of our people to be represented. It is inevitable that a certain amount of numerical irregularities in constituencies cannot be avoided. We cannot, for instance, say that a farm—a European farm which employs, say, twenty African labourers can have one representative... and that a location like Alexandra Township should also have one representative for every twenty inhabitants. We cannot give you a precise guide, but one could say at this stage that the number of electoral units—that the number of constituencies—will depend on the active local COP committees. ... But what has been decided is something which has never happened in South African history before, that is, every person in South Africa, irrespective of race, colour or creed, will have vote and elect his/her representative to the COP."

The TAC had set aside 15 April 1994 for me "first truly democratic elections" to be held in South Africa. On the weekend of 16-17 April "thousands of meetings, big and small (were to) be held throughout the Transvaal" and these would be "used to the greatest possible extent to advertise the Congress and the Freedom Charter" and elect delegations.

The May 1955 issue of Forward to Freedom reported that in "Sophiatown the whole area has been divided into blocks which are being canvassed to elect delegates... and collect money. They are arranging a big public meeting to endorse the candidates." Similarly, Moroka, Jabavu and Alexandra "have been divided into blocks for canvassing (and) in each of the areas the ANC branch has appointed three people to nurse COP in their areas."

In Fordsburg, Newlands and Ophirton "house-to-house canvassing has been started and meetings are being called at which delegates will be elected and demands brought in." The issue also advertised that "special conferences" were to be held in Benoni, Sophiatown and Moroka to "elect delegates". A public meeting had been scheduled for 22 May 1955 in Lady Selborne, Pretoria, to elect delegates and collect demands. The publication finally advocated that volunteers" tell... friends on the farms" by writing to them and "ask them to send as many delegates as they can."

The interviews in Suttner and Cronin's book provide conflicting views about the manner in which delegates were elected. Christmas Tinto claims that delegates were "not non-ANC members", whereas Mahopa from Sophiatown notes that delegates were not exclusively registered members of the Congresses. Billy Nair emphasised that the "most democratic methods were used" in factories where SACTU was organising for me COP, and supports the view that non-Congress members were eligible for election as delegates.

The latter view is verifiable by a document dealing with elections, which stated that nominees need not necessarily be members of the sponsoring organisations and it stressed that "non-members should be encouraged to accept nomination". It stipulated that in the townships the number of delegates to be elected should be in the proportion of one delegate to 1,000 residents, and that after nominations, the area should be canvassed to gain support for the candidate. It advanced a simple slogan:

The Congress knows no bars—bar no one!"

What emerges from this brief survey is mat elections were held over a period of two months in big and small meetings in homes, in public and at factories, and the democratic process entailed the calling for nominations and ratification or endorsement by the audience. As the Congresses had rejected parliamentary electoral procedures in denned constituencies, this can be interpreted as a practical democratic procedure.

The Congress of the People, 25-26 June 1955

Whatever deficiencies there might have been in the campaign, by June 1955 there was a flurry of activity and energetic enthusiasm for the historic Congress of the People. Volunteers were instructed to "whip up the people's feelings" for the Congress and complete the processes of electing delegates and submitting demands. For the volunteers in the Transvaal a long and arduous campaign lasting almost eleven full months were about to come to a dose. But not yet! On 21 May 1955 all volunteers had to attend a Special Preparatory Conference to discuss details about the hosting of the COP itself. Lionel Bernstein has left us with a vivid description of the mood prevailing just before the COP:

It is the eve of the Congress of the People. The work of knocking on doors, speaking to housewives, labourers, teachers and mechanics draws to a dose. The demands of simple people for the things they want in life begin to form a pattern whose sum will be stated in the Freedom Charter. The request for delegates' credentials and still more credentials grows into a speeding torrent. It is three weeks before June 25,1955—too late now to do all the things that might have been; too early to know whether everything has succeeded as was planned and hoped for... The COP struck an echo because it was timely, because it expressed the need for a charter of change, for a programme of struggle for change, which the majority of our countrymen, for one reason or another, are seeking.

The Congress of the People, held over the weekend of 25-26 June 1955, was a colourful and dramatic affair. It was an exceptional and moving experience for the thousands of delegates and observers that attended it, one that would not be easily forgotten, but remembered, perhaps, forever. Billy Nair described the scene as follows:

"When we reached the Congress there was a carnival atmosphere. In fact, the organisation was immaculate; it was of a very high standard.... It was the first non-racial gathering of its size we have ever had in this country. It was actually a landmark in the political development of me people."

For Ellen Lambert the COP was seen as "the day of liberation—like Martin Luther's meeting where he gave the 'I have a dream....' speech. I thought from here nothing is going to stop us.... It I can express in a religious way—to the it was like the Israelites coming out of the desert and into the land of wine and honey." For the Reggie Vandeyar/ Eastern Cape, the COP was a "great moment in (his) life. Through all the years of going through meetings, listening to all the speeches and seeing the dynamism of mass struggle in the Passive Resistance Campaign and the Defiance Campaign, one felt that this was the epitome of one's contribution to the struggle.... Just the delegates were in their thousands. Every delegate was a speaker—if he/she was called upon to say something, he/she would be able to articulate his/ her grievances and the people he/she represented. They would be able to say something about their plight in South Africa and that was the most inspiring thing of all."

The official report of the NAC on the COP stated that there were 2844 delegates" representing all the most important centres" with "approximately 300 delegates from Natal, 250 from the Easter and Western Cape, 50 from the OFS" and the "balance came from the Transvaal, mainly from Johannesburg." It noted with "some concern" that the "overwhelming majority of delegates came from the main urban centres, i.e., from areas where the Congress branches have been operating for many years.... The Northern Cape, the Transkei and Ciskei, the Transvaal and OPS countryside were hardly represented. The figure of nine representative from the reserves throughout South Africa suggested very strongly that the campaign did not effectively reach the countryside." In an unduly harsh criticism of itself and the sponsoring organisations the NAC added that "very little" work was done to popularise the COP in the rural areas. Equally hard-hitting was its comment on the relatively small delegation of organised workers. "Only a minute proportion came from the factories or mines.

It also indicates that the Congress movement as an organised weapon has not yet made its impression at the point of production." Robert Resha, presenting the report of the credentials committee at the COP, informed the delegates that there were" 2,884 delegates.... from Natal, Sekhukhuneland, Zululand, Transkei, Ciskei, Almost every place in the Transvaal, Cape Town, Durban/East London and Port Elizabeth." Sectoral representation was as follows:

"2,186 African delegates, 320 Indians, 230 Coloureds, 112 whites, and of the total 721 were women. Sixty delegates from the Cape were detained at Beaufort West and railed to appear at me COP." The Star reported that "more than 150 delegates from other provinces had been held up... by members of the Special Branch who had refused to allow them to continue on their way."

The Congress of the People opened—under the chairmanship of Dr. W. Conco—with a prayer by Rev. Gawe and a speech delivered on behalf of Chief Luthuli, who could not attend because of his banning order. This was followed by the presentation of the Isitwalandwe—an honour of a bird feather conferred on distinguished sons of the Xhosa people—to Chief Luthuli, Dr. Dadoo and Father Trevor Huddleston "in recognition of their work to build a better life in our country, founded upon democracy and equality." 141 After this each clause of the Freedom Charter was motivated by various speakers, limited discussion and comments were elicited from the delegates, and the clause was adopted by a show of hands. Below is a list of the clauses of the Freedom Charter and the speaker for each:

Preamble of the Freedom Charter - A.S. Hutchinson

The People Shall Govern - N.T. Naicker

All National Groups Shall Have Equal Rights - Dr. Letele

The People Shall Share in the Country's Wealth - B. Turok

The Land Shall Be Shared Amongst Those Who Work It - T.E. Tshunungwa

All Shall Be Equal before me Law - Dr. A. Sader

All Shall Enjoy Equal Human Rights - ms.s. Bunting

There Shall Be Work and Security - L.S. Massina

The Doors Learning and Culture Shall Be Opened - E. Mphahlele

There Shall Be Houses, Security and Comfort - Ms. H. Joseph

There shall be Peace and Friendship - C. Mayekiso

This process ended with the entire Freedom Charter being put to a vote, and being adopted. During the latter part of the Sunday programme" about 200 armed European and Native police and a squad from the Special Branch surrounded the open air meeting of about 3,000 delegates... searched everyone present, took their names and addresses, and took possession of papers and banners." This was done ostensibly in the process of "investigating a charge of treason." Father Huddleston described the charge as being "ludicrous" and added that "communism was being used as a bogey to intimidate people,... but mis irresponsible and deplorable misuse would recoil upon those responsible, with serious consequences for them." The last of the delegates finally left the assembly at 8.00 p.m. on Sunday.

The historical significance of this "people's assembly" is beyond question. The document that it adopted led to the consolidation of the Congress Alliance on the basis of a principled political programme, the eventual breaking away of the Africanists and the formation of the Pan African Congress, the marathon treason trial lasting years, and, more recently, the resurgence of political activity on the basis of the Freedom Charter. Suttner and Cronin best capture its political significance in a paragraph:

In one sense the adoption of the Charter represented a continuation of earlier resistance. But in another, it marked the start of a new phase in the South African struggle. For the first time in the history of South African resistance, the people were actively involved in formulating their own vision of an alternative society. The majority of people would no longer seek to modify the existing order, to be assimilated into a society whose basis they fundamentally rejected. While the process by which the masses had come to this decision had been developing over decades, the Congress of the People represented the crucial historical moment: a completely new order, based on the will of tile people, was put on the agenda. local committees for the COP and Volunteer Chiefs, 16 March 1955."

[BACK TO MENU]