Lessons From Past Heroes

What can be learned from black South Africans who achieved success before South Africa became a democracy in 1994? What are the challenges they faced, and how did they overcome them? And, today, how have South Africans benefited from the country’s democratic system of governance? These are the questions Phumlani M. Majozi explores and attempts to answer in Lessons from Past Heroes. He traces black people’s success and political activity back to the early 1900s; successful men and women who spearheaded the struggle against the segregationist, colonialist government and devoted their lives to advancing the interests of their communities. Phumlani explores the careers,challenges, and successes of people such as Pixley ka Isaka Seme, John Langalibalele Dube, Sol Plaatje and Josiah Tshangana Gumede. During the apartheid years, South Africa produced black men and women who overcame the odds to succeed in their fields of business, entertainment, science, and politics. They excelled in the face of an oppressive government system, and their stories should inspire every South African today. After exploring the history of South Africa, Phumlani delves into the presentand the future; evaluating the challenges South Africans face and proposes solutions that can speed up their economic progress. He argues that much of South Africa’s history has portrayed the majority as victims of the minority, and that the inspirational stories of those people who overcame adversity are not being told widely enough.

To the thin-skinned, Phumlani might come across as disrespectful of – even arrogant towards – established thinking by contemporary South African politicians and economic policymakers, but it would be short-sighted to characterise him as such. - SOLLY MOENG

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