2010/03/01 by Martin Plaut · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #South African History and Culture
paper · doi:10.1093/hwj/dbp035
openalex publication_date 2010/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
The student protests around the world in 1968 have been the subject of much comment, but little has been written about the events at the University of Cape Town in that year. The University authorities, under intense pressure from the government not to employ a ‘black’ lecturer at a ‘white’ institution, withdrew an offer of employment made to Archie Mafeje. A sizable proportion of the student body, disgusted by this manifestation of the racism so prevalent at the time, decided to make a stand and occupied the University administration building. for ten days it was the focus of intense political activity, with the University and the government putting pressure on those involved to end the sit-in, while messages of support flowed in from student protests in Paris and London. Forty years after these events a group of those involved came together in Cape Town to assess the long-term implications of the protest. At one level it had failed: Archie Mafeje never was appointed to the position and never received recognition from the University during his lifetime. He died an angry and embittered man. Yet at another level it succeeded, with individuals involved in the sit-in going on to play significant roles in the resistance to apartheid. The article argues that elements in South Africa's current situation can, in a small way, be traced back to those events.