This much-awaited volume uncovers the long-lost pages of the major African multilingual newspaper, Abantu-Batho.
Founded in 1912 by African National Congress (ANC) convenor Pixley Seme, with assistance from the Swazi Queen, it was published up until 1931, attracting the cream of African politicians, journalists and poets Mqhayi, Nontsisi Mgqweth, and Grendon. In its pages burning issues of the day were articulated alongside cultural by-ways. The People’s Paper – comprising both essays and an anthology – explores the complex movements and individuals that emerged in the almost twenty years of its publication. The essays contribute rich, new material to provide clearer insights into South African politics and intellectual life. The anthology unveils a judicious selection of never-before published columns from the paper spanning every year of its life and drawn from repositories on three continents. Abantu-Batho had a regional and international focus, and by examining all these dynamics across boundaries and disciplines, The People’s Paper transcends established historiographical frontiers to fill a lacuna that scholars have long lamented.
Despre autor
Robert TRENTVinson is a university associate professor for Teaching Excellence in History at the College of William and Mary. His recent books include The Americans Are Coming! Dreams of African American Liberation in Segregationist South Africa (Ohio University Press, 2012), Crossing the Water: African Americans and South Africa, 1890–1965, with Robert Edgar and David Anthony (forthcoming, Ohio University Press) and Shaka’s Progeny: Zulu Culture and the Making of the Modern Atlantic World with Benedict Carton.