Story of Sol Plaatje
A Legacy of Learning
One hundred years after establishing his mark in literary and political discourse, Solomon Plaatje has a new university
near Kimberley named after him. “This new university is the first to be established in the democratic era of our beloved country” said Jennifer Glennie, chair of the University’s Interim Council, at the turning of the soil. Kimberley has a
heritage of early mining inhabitants. It played a historical role during the Industrial Revolution and will most likely play a
part in the future of science through the Square Kilometer. Array radio telescope in the Northern Cape. The launch of
the Sol Plaatje University in 2014 parallels this pioneering journalist’s first visit to Britain in 1914 as the secretary
general of the South African Native National Congress. This new university is the apex of Plaatje’s legacy of learning and
will signify his vision for civil rights and the preservation of his cultural heritage.
Democracy imagined in literary discourse
What Sol Plaatje envisioned for the future of South Africa as a democracy became a reality through the continued work
and political skills of the late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. In his thesis – Mine is but a sincere
narrative of a melancholy situation – Paswane Mpe draws parallels between the political vision of Nelson Mandela and
the literary work of Plaatje. “What Plaatje imagined in literary discourse, Nelson Mandela was able to usher in reality,”
writes Mpe. They both had the vision of a common unified South Africa; both aspired to individual freedom of speech
and association; both sought to be protected under the constitution with the right to vote; both wanted the differences
of race, religion, language and groups to be respected. Plaatje embraced journalism and activism as intertwined and
not as separate or incompatible activities.
A Journalist and an Activist
At the time of his writing, a politically neutral journalist was common practice. But Plaatje was a journalist and an activist.
He used written and oral traditions effectively to contribute to the political discourse of a future South Africa. From his first
writings of a war diary to the latter expression of a romantic novel against the backdrop of colonial fiction, his journey is
that of a literary pioneer, campaigning journalist, champion of people’s rights and politician appointed as the first secretary general of the South African National Native Congress, the organization which foreshadowed the African National Congress.
“Au Sanna”, the Boers Cannon
The diary displays a sense of humour, an easy style of writing, and great perception of mood and a mix of
languages. The first entries personify the Boers’ Cannon as ‘Sanna’ and the detail of each cannon shot per day: –
“Au Sanna appears to be sharpened up, for her fire was vigorous and quick since 3 o’clock.” Another entry about
the role of the Baroleng: “Our men got there in the dark – when they started peppering volley after volley – some
Boers were seen running away half-dressed.” Every detail was noted: “A very quiet day. The bells rang twice, but ‘Au Sanna’ never fired.”
Plaatje’s Appointment as a Editor
Plaatje’s next phase of writing was his appointment as editor of a Setswana newspaper ‘Korante ea Bechuana’.
Plaatje never saw himself as a politically neutral journalist. His first task was to advocate education; the
advancement of his people for their just rights and fair treatment and secondly to ensure that an African
perspective became a factor in the political future of the country in which he lived. An assertive and personal
motto was printed in each edition of the paper stating his desire for better treatment “I am black but comely ….. Look
not upon me because I am black for the sun looked down upon me; my mother’s children were angry with me; they
made me keeper of the vineyards; but my vineyard have I not kept”. A quotation from the Bible’s Song of Solomon
and later repeated in the first chapter of ‘Native Life in South Africa’. The expression of “native opinion” is deeply
reflected in ‘Korante ea Bechuana’ editorials. The most striking of all editorials appeared under the heading
“Equal Rights”. It first appeared on 13 September 1902 and was later repeated word for word on several occasions
Our just dues
We do not hanker after social equality with the white man. If anyone tells you that we do so, he is a lunatic and should be put in chains. We do not care for your parlour…….All we claim is our just dues; we ask for political recognition as loyal British subjects….Under the Union Jack, every person is his neighbour’s equal… Presently under the British Constitution every MAN so qualified is his neighbour’s political equal, therefore anyone who argues to the contrary or imagines himself the political
superior of his fellow subject, is a rebel at heart” Plaatje’s political activism for “our just dues” informed his literary vision. His tactic of repetitious petitioning for equal rights for all civilised men is inspired by a deep set of values and theological beliefs he learnt at a Lutheran Mission Station in the Free State. He constantly advocated the principle of equal rights before the law for all his country’s citizens and believed in a multicultural nation founded on South African soil
“A pariah in the land of his birth…”
Sol Plaatje’s ‘Native Life in South Africa’ was a response to the passing of the Native Land Act in 1913 and opened with the words. “Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not a slave, but a pariah in the
land of his birth”. ‘Native Life in South Africa’ was a written record of the SANNC deputation to London in 1914 to lodge a protest with the British imperial government against the discrimination of African and South African land legislation. It championed an argument against the trio of oppressive mechanisms: land dispossession, economic servitude and social downgrade. Written as a work of impassioned political appeal, it exposed the difficulties of black South Africans under the whites-only government. The effects of the Native Land Act treated them as “squatters” and expelled blacks from their ancestral homeland in the Orange Free State. Plaatje refers to the Act as the “most barbarous legislation”. The narrative documents eyewitness accounts of his people’s suffering and shows case studies of white disloyalty. He intends to urge the imperial British government to intervene and temper the growing strength of the Republican Boer and English colonialists
Plaatje translated four of Shakespeare’s works
As a lover of his people and pioneer of Setswana literature, Plaatje displayed a keen interest in the language, history and
cultural traditions of the Tswana people. His literary vision for the education and advancement of his people is evident in
the printing of Sechuana Proverbs; the Sechuana Reader; the translation of Shakespearean works into Setswana and
the writing of his novel Mhudi. In 1929, Plaatje translated four of Shakespeare’s works: Comedy of Errors; Julius Caesar; Much Ado About Nothing and Merchant of Venice. His novel Mhudi is both a literary and political discourse against the backdrop of colonial fiction offering a voice to women as a source of hope. “Emphasis should not just be placed on Plaatje as the first black novelist but Mhudi must be seen as part of the broad tradition of South African literature” says Willan author of several books on Plaatje. The new university in Kimberly is not just a name; it embodies Sol Plaatje as South Africa’s campaigning journalist, war diarist, champion of people’s rights, literary pioneer and preserver of Tswana culture and heritage. His political activism and literary visions addressed the ills of colonialism, and racial oppression and preserved the cultural heritage of Tswana-speaking people. His writings gave input to his political vision and his politics gave input to his literary vision