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OverviewIt is well known that the African National Congress was formed in 1912 and is considered the oldest political organisation on the African continent. What is often not widely known is that the person who founded it was one Pixley ka Isaka Seme, a thirty-year-old black South African from Inanda outside the city of Durban. What is remarkable about Seme's achievement in founding the ANC is not only that he succeeded where most had failed at forging black political unity. It is also the speed at which he did it. He had just returned to South Africa from the United Kingdom and the United States of America, where he had been a student since he was a teenager. In slightly over a year the founding conference of the ANC was convened and he was at its helm as the main organiser. Seme also established a national newspaper, became one of the pioneering black lawyers in South Africa, bought land from white farmers for black settlement right at the time when opposition to it was gaining momentum, became a sought-after adviser and confidant to African royalty, and was considered a leading visionary for black economic empowerment. And yet, when he became president general of the ANC in the 1930s, he brought it to its knees through sheer ineptitude and an authoritarian style of leadership. On more than one occasion he was found guilty for breaching the law, which partly led to him being struck off the roll of attorneys. This book discusses in detail Seme's extraordinary life, from his humble beginnings at Inanda Mission to his triumphs and disappointments across the continents, in his public and private life. When Seme died in 1951 he was bankrupt and his political standing had suffered greatly. And yet he was praised as one of the greatest South Africans ever to have lived. For all this, he has largely been forgotten. This biography brings the remarkable life of this extraordinary South African back to public consciousness. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Bongani NgqulungaPublisher: Penguin Random House South Africa Imprint: Zebra Press Dimensions: Width: 15.30cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 23.40cm Weight: 0.424kg ISBN: 9781770229266ISBN 10: 1770229264 Pages: 288 Publication Date: 31 May 2017 Audience: General/trade , General Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsReviewsAuthor InformationBongani Ngqulunga is a fellow at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He is a graduate of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where he earned three degrees, and he also holds a PhD from Brown University in the USA. After working at the Policy Unit in the Presidency, he currently serves as the chief of staff and spokesperson of the President of the Republic of South Africa. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |