Professor H. Giliomee in analysing the centrality of the Freedom Charter to the rise of mass resistance to apartheid in the post-1976 era has asserted:
I cannot but be amazed at the remarkable way the Freedom Charter has resurfaced in the 1980s and has forced itself upon file political consciousness of all people in the country. The fact that the Charter was largely forgotten in the 1960s and 1970s by the overwhelming part of South Africa's population does not detract in any way from its historical significance. The Charter has the makings of becoming a unifying symbol for all those people who have firmly committed themselves to a non-racial future for South Africa. Indeed, I am one such person on who the Freedom Charter "has forced itself upon" since the 1980s.
It has served to transform my own political consciousness and understanding of the apartheid social order. But more importantly, it has placed before me a coherent vision of an alternative: a non-racial, democratic society for all South Africans. It is this idealized vision that had encouraged me to conduct a historical investigation into the origins of the Freedom Charter. This book is, therefore, based on an MA. Thesis submitted to the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in December 1989.
I am honour bound to acknowledge the sacrifices of literally hundreds of thousands of known and unknown leaders, activists and members of countless political, worker, community, women, youth, student and cultural organisations who have participated in the South African national liberation struggle based on the ideals of the Freedom Charter. They have contributed—in some cases with their lives—to the resurfacing of the Freedom Charter, thereby leaving an indelible imprint on my own consciousness.
From among these, if there is one person who has been most instrumental in initiating this study, it is the ex-political prisoner, Raymond Suttner, now a fellow ANC Member of Parliament. He provided the initial inspiration for me to conduct an in-depth study of the campaign for the Congress of the People and the Freedom Charter. I am grateful to him for his motivation and for making available to me his invaluable collection of interview material on the topic.
Today it is evident that the continuous struggles and sacrifices of the historically oppressed peoples of South Africa have not been in vain. The political vision of me Freedom Charter has already become a living reality since April 27, 1994. South Africa has emerged as a non-racial democracy, with all citizens— black and white—being free and equal. The struggle for national self-determination of the black majority has been consummated.
This book will be incomplete if I fail to acknowledge the assistance rendered to me by a number of persons in the course of my research. First among these will be Professor P. Bonner, my academic supervisor, who gave the constant support and excellent advice. His academic rigour and intellectual creativity have certainly rubbed off on this project.
My heartfelt appreciation to a number of Congress activists from the 1950s—both here and abroad—who were willing to share with their wealth of experiences and lively reminiscences. Many had to go through the arduous process of recalling for me what had occurred forty years ago, and recount details that have, with the passage of time, become blurred and indistinct.
My sincere gratitude to Beyers Naude, Goolab Parbhoo and Ahmed Darsot who provided them with financial assistance to conduct my research and to publish this book. Also, the constant encouragement of my friends and comrades, most notably Lallo "Isu" Chiba and Reggie Vandeyar, and my wife, Zerina, helped me to complete this study under the difficult conditions of a national state of emergency. Finally, my thanks to the ANC (Lenasia Branch) for acting as the distributor of the book in South Africa.