OURSELVES:
1. The African National Congress was established in 1912 as a liberation organisation of the African people in the Union of South Africa. The Congress is today the premier national organisation, the undisputed leader of and spokesman for the African people in this country. Its aims and objects are to:
2. It will be noted from "(c)" above that the Congress aims at establishing a multi-racial society in South Africa based on a Universal adult suffrage and the principles outlined in the Freedom Charter.
3. In order to appreciate the reasons for and meaning and significance of our aims and objectives one has to know and understand the history - political, economic and social development of this country and its racial set-up. Apart from its historical development, it should also be remembered that the Union of South Africa is the only country in Africa with a very large settled White population.
4. In consequence of the recognition of this historic development our philosophy of struggle is "a democratic South Africa" embracing all, regardless of colour or race who pay undivided allegiance to South Africa and mother Africa. 1 (a) under our Objects implies our recognition of African Nationalism, but in our situation as stated above, we are progressively developing the concept of an all embracing "Africanism".
5. For the reasons stated in the preceding paragraphs the African b National Congress is apprehensive of and finds it difficult to agree with the following statement contained in the "Call to Independence":
"This Conference will formulate and proclaim our African Personality based on the philosophy of Pan-African Socialism as ideology of the African non-violent revolution."
6. No doubt Conference will analyse and satisfy itself of what is implied in such expressions as "African personality," "Pan-African Socialism." Absolute clarity is necessary before any "formulation and proclamation." This observation gives force to the plea — a practical plea in the circumstances — we make in paragraphs 7 and 8 below.
7. It is our intention to make the Conference a great success. We should therefore bear in mind that the Conference is a meeting of representatives of national liberatory organisations and movements which hold diverse political and social theories and principles. To try to get them to adopt a common ideology and philosophy will only lend the Conference into difficulties and unpleasantness. We suggest that it should not be attempted.
8. In our considered opinion the Conference should merely attempt what is absolutely politically necessary and practical in the fight against imperialism and all forms of national oppression.
World Events and Africa
9. The African Continent has acquired added political and international importance as a result of post-war political and social developments: the emergence of new independent African States, the growth of the peoples’ struggles for freedom and independence in various countries in the Continent, and the loss of Asia as a field of investment for foreign countries.
10. It is gratifying to note that after centuries of foreign domination, humiliation and ruthless exploitation, the peoples of Africa are at long last coming into their own or finding ways to their political freedom and social and economic progress.
11. Having lost Asia as a field of investment and colonial exploitation, imperialist powers of Europe and America have now turned their attention to Africa. The hitherto "dark Continent" is to become the main area of capital investment, economic exploitation and a military base where battles of ideologies are to be fought. Africa must not be allowed to become a battlefield for the interests of foreign powers.
12. The above facts give special significance and importance to the present All African People’s Conference. We therefore welcome the convening of the Conference and wholeheartedly congratulate its organisers. We should like particularly to place on record the deep appreciation of the oppressed people of South Africa of the fact that those who have already achieved their freedom and independence have not forgotten their duties and responsibilities to those who are still in chains, and to the sacred cause of African freedom and independence.
13. We note that the Conference will discuss, formulate plans and make important pronouncements on a variety of questions of vital interest to the peoples of Africa, such as:
- Colonial rule; and
- A free democratic society.
14. Much as we agree with some of the problems and demands included in the long list of items for the Conference, we cannot see the wisdom in the suggested procedure. In our view the Conference should merely confine itself to formulating broad principles of fighting imperialism, colonialism arid racial discrimination in Africa.
15. Questions of local issues, detail programmes, policies and tactics are matters which should be left to organisations and social forces in each country to be intimately dealt with and decided upon in accordance with the concrete political situation and peculiar historical conditions, bearing in mind always that political, economic and social conditions are not the same in all countries or territories in Africa, and that, therefore, no single detail programme or policy can suit them all.
16. We should not be unmindful of the fact that some of the issues raised in the list in paragraph 13, more correctly fall under the purview of independent states or new independent states and not purely liberatory movements primarily concerned with the main goal: freedom or independence as the case may be. It is true that liberatory movements are not debarred from expressing views on these questions but certainly not at the early stage when they are trying to forge a machinery of giving form to their co-operative efforts in their struggle for freedom.
17. These questions have international implications of great, if not explosive, import. Liberatory movements must aim to capture as much goodwill in the world from people of many countries, if not from the governments of, those countries. Wisdom demands that we should handle delicately some international issues which have no direct bearing on our liberatory efforts.
18. The Conference should guard against any tendency towards self- isolation by African States and peoples from Asian States and peoples. It is our opinion that in a world setting our Conference should be part of the Bandung Conference, that it should be, as it were, a regional Conference of the Bandung Conference, and that it should be based on the ten principles of that Conference, There should be a measure of greater co-operation among the forces of freedom in Asia and Africa.
19. On the other hand, as an All-Africa Conference, our Conference should - apart from laying down the general principles of fighting imperialism, colonialism and racial discrimination in the Continent - work out methods of co-operation and loose co-ordination of the struggles for genuine democracy and freedom in Africa.
20. To make this co-operation and loose co-ordination possible, it will be necessary to set up a machinery for exchanging information about the struggle and political trends in each country, and reactions to those trends. For this we strongly recommend the appointment of a secretariat, a secretariat with no pretence at executive authority.
Union of South Africa
21. Put generally, the situation in this country is one of political domination, ruthless economic exploitation and plunder of the masses, social bars and racial discrimination: injustices, poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease! White domination and exploitation in the Union of South Africa is of a twofold nature
Our electoral laws, and the enjoyment of citizenship rights, are based purely and simply on skin colour, and not on education and culture as is usually asserted by the oppressors and their apologists.
22. By way of illustration, we should like to mention a few of the injustices perpetrated against the non-White majority by the ruling White minority:
(i) Political Rights:
25. The basic political principle and philosophy of the rulers of South Africa is that there shall be no equality between the Whites and the Blacks in Church or State. The advocates of this theory maintain that the Whites have been predestined by God to be masters over the non-Whites. To further their sinister political objectives they have adopted the policy of White baasskap (White overlordship) and apartheid, by which the 11.5 million non-White inhabitants are denied any say or participation in the administration of their own country.
(ii) Freedom of Movement:
24. Passports are denied to non-Whites as a matter of national or State policy. But internally it is the pass laws and poll tax receipts that seriously interfere with the freedom of movement and liberty of the Africans, and provincial barriers with that of South Africans of Indian descent.
(iii) Land Hunger:
25. There is an acute shortage of land among African peasantry in rural areas. It is a well-known fact that only 13% of the land has been set aside for occupation by the African population of 10,000,000 as compared with 87% for the Whites who only number 3,000,000. Legally, Africans may not own, acquire, lease or occupy land outside the schedules area without permission from the Governor-General-in-Council. Under the Group Areas Act Asians and other non-Whites have been swindled of their hard-earned properties and economically and financially ruined. All of us, Asians, Coloureds and Africans have today no security of tenure whatsoever. We are pushed from pillar to pest.
(iv) Economic:
26. The economic conditions of the non-Whites are deliberately retarded and depressed by government policy. Opportunities to engage in commerce, trades and professions are denied to them, or very much restricted. Industrial colour bars operate against non-White workers, particularly against African workers who are denied the right of forming trade unions and, who are excluded from all the benefits bestowed to other workers by the country’s basic industrial law: the Industrial Conciliation Act. Skilled occupations and living wages are for Whites only. In the interests of profits and the comfort of the Whites, the wages of non-White workers are kept scandalously low.
(v) Education and Cultural Advancement:
27. The theory and. belief of the advocates of White baasskap and apartheid are that African progress is a threat to "Western" way of life in the Union. So, they have set themselves the difficult task of checking it at all costs. The compulsory school. age for White children ensures their covering the primary school education and for a normal child the secondary school education. Higher education, including technical education, is heavily subsidised; that of non-White children is neither free, compulsory nor adequate.
28. But the position is worse in the case of African children. Not only is 70% of African children of school age not at school, but even for the 30% which goes to school, the position is vitiated by the Bantu Education Act. Under this Act African children have been cut off from the main stream of world culture by eliminating and prohibiting the teaching of all important and essential subjects, and by taking over or closing all private schools.
29. It should also be remembered that apart from two White universities which allow a limited number of non-White students, all White universities in South Africa are closed to non-Whites. Segregationists are today talking about establishing two "Bantu universities" in addition to Fort Hare University College. These "Bantu universities" are to be ethnic in nature.
(vi) Freedom of Speech and Assembly:
30. Nowadays practically all political end trade union meetings of Africans may be held only with the permission of the police. More often than not it is grudgingly given. In many areas, and for all practical purposes in all rural areas, meetings are prohibited.
(vii) Vicious Attacks on the People:
31. The Government has launched vicious attacks on the non-White people - Coloured, Indian and African - and their organisations. It is using unjust and discriminatory laws to suppress, ban or banish its political opponents. But the main brunt of the attacks is concentrated on the African section of the community, masses of whom have to suffer the humiliation and indignities of being arrested daily in pass, permit, tax and liquor raids to be fined, imprisoned or sold to farmers as cheap labour.
(viii) Efforts to Stem the Tide:
32. As part of its political activities in fulfilment of its programme and in an effort to stem the tide of White reaction, the Congress has formed an alliance with other democratic organisations, consisting of the African National Congress, the South African Indian Congress, the South African Coloured People’s Organisation, the South African Congress of Democrats, and the South African Congress of Trade Unions. This agreement to co-operate in no way limits the independence or freedom of any of the parties to it. All are still free to pursue their political activities as before.
33. Under the leadership of the African National Congress, these organisations pledged themselves to cc-operate in the struggle against oppression and injustices, and for freedom and full political, economic and social equality for all the people of South Africa irrespective of race, colour or creed.
(ix) Notable Freedom Efforts in the Union
34. In pursuance of its freedom objective the African National Congress, together with other democratic organisations with which it is in alliance, has staged notable non-violent struggles for freedom. Foundation for militancy in our struggle was theoretically laid down in our "African Claims" in 1943, but was given practical consideration in 1949 in our Programme of Action.
35. Here are some of the notable dates of our practical efforts:
36. The campaigns tabulated above were not all successful, but some of them were really a great political success. Yet they have all given us important knowledge. We have gained a wealth of experience from our successes and failures.
37. The fact that we have so far only mentioned the struggles of the past 15 years should not be interpreted or taken as indicating that the Congress did nothing very important politically till recently. Any such impression would be very far from the truth.
38. As may be noted in paragraph 1 of these notes, the African National Congress was founded some 46 years ago on the eve of the enactment of one of the most unjust and cruel laws of the Union Parliament: The Natives Land Act of 1913. So, from the very early days of its establishment, the Congress was confronted with very grave national tragedies and problems. Young as it was and considering its historical and political background, the Congress achieved wonders during the short period of 1913 to 1925.