African Activist Archive

Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Ben Magubane was a well-known South African scholar. He received a B.A. in South Africa, and, in 1961, he came to the United States for graduate studies and earned a PhD in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Magubane discusses two incidents of his activism in the United States beginning at 41:28. (The activist he mentions in the shack is Martin Legassick. He refers to this Los Angeles Times photograph.) Magubane discusses Oliver Tambo (OR), underdevelopment, Chester Crocker, the Reagan policy, Johnny Makatini, Fred Dube, Nelson Mandela, Krugerrands, Mary-Louse Hooper, Albert Luthuli, and George Houser. Magubane returned to South Africa in 1994 and became Editor-in-Chief of the South African Democracy Education Trust (SADET) in Pretoria, which published an important series The Road to Demcoracy in South Africa. Throughout his years in exile, he remained an active member of the African National Congress (ANC). Magubane's best known book was The Political Economy of Race and Class in South Africa (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979). Magubane died in April 2013 at the age of 83.This interview was conducted during the conference A Decade of Freedom: Celebrating the Role of the International Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa's Freedom Struggle held in Durban, South Africa, October 10-13, 2004.

African Activist Archive

Interview with Bernard Magubane

Creator

Place Created

Date

Type of Item

Length/duration

Description

Organization

Coverage Africa

Language

Digital Format

Rights Management