An
important NEC meeting in Luanda convened to address individual armed incursions
into South Africa by sometimes renegade, but often just impatient,
Soweto-generation cadres. This meeting took place prior to the September 1977
murder of black consciousness (BC) leader Steve Biko by agents of the South
African regime. Mention of Biko is significant because many of the young people
who were leaving South Africa to join MK were devotees, or at least greatly
influenced, by the black consciousness movement. In the years preceding Soweto,
and even in its aftermath, the ANC was critical of BC as a diversionary
movement. Joe and Ruth counseled the organization to be cautious, positively
noting that it was young BC supporters who were infected with the revolutionary
“spark…” Indeed, it was Joe’s essay “No Middle Ground” that served as the
“spark” for many of the new cadres. James Ngculu, Terrence Tryon, Mohammad
Timol, and Keith Mokoape, MK veterans who worked with Joe in Maputo and
Lusakain the 1980s, all gave credit to the essay as having great influence to
their joining MK after the Soweto Uprising. Mokoape noted Joe’s sensitivity to
young BC cadres’ initial skepticism of the ANC and remembered taking “guidance
from Joe” when he left South Africa. Pallo Jordan and Albie Sachs suggest it
was Joe’s influence that brought BC to MK. Jordan mentioned that the essay
“would have an electrifying effect on young black South Africans who would soon
become part of the struggle against apartheid.”
Sachs has detailed memories of Joe’s position, influence, and even humor
regarding
black
consciousness:
After
’76 and the Soweto Uprising and the emergence of black consciousness there were
many black leaders in the ANC who said we don’t like this black consciousness,
and saw it as a threat to revolutionary consciousness. Joe was the one who said
it’sfantastic—they’re expressing their revolutionary consciousness through
black consciousness, and they’re going to give enormous energy and strength to
the armed struggle. So here was the paradox of the white person in the movement
embracing black consciousness and blacks in the movement seeing themselves as
old-time, non-racial, socialists.
Joe’s
writing, his view of black consciousness, and his general humanity had a great
impact on the new MK recruits. This is apparent in his work with cadres in the
camps throughout the years of the armed struggle. Much of his time was spent in
the military camps in Angola, where the MK soldiers were being trained. ANC military camps were found throughout
Angola, but most of the training was done at Funda, just outside of Luanda. The
commander of the Funda Camp was Obadi (Montso Mokqabudi), an MK cadre who would
become extremely close to Joe at the end of the 1970s. Though Joe did not live
in the camps like Ronnie Kasrils, he was well known by the MK soldiers training
at the camps. Cadres who came out of the black consciousness movement referred
to Joe as Ijudi, meaning the non-racial Jew. Three decades after he spent time in the MK
military camps with Joe, Ronnie Kasrils is certain of Joe Slovo’s importance in
the camps, his rapport with the cadres, and his humanity:
Joe
became much more relaxed being able to go back to Africa and being absolutely
part of the front line—at center stage. I would say he was the most popular
person amongst the comrades in Africa. They absolutely adored him. Here is this
old guy. Joe’s like an uncle and he’s very avuncular. He’s endearing, more than
anyone they encounter. He was a great leveler, Slovo.
Pallo
Jordan was also with Joe in Angola. Even though Jack Simons was more well-known
for teaching the cadres politics and connecting South African apartheid,
racism, and class disparity to the capitalist world, Jordan describes Joe Slovo
as a principal teacher: Joe would have been sort of the principal teacher in
the military at the time, the theoretical, strategy side of things.
There
were regular talks, lectures, and discussions that took place. There was
interaction between him and the rank-and-file soldiers. That also contributed
to the degree of popularity he enjoyed amongst the MK cadre. Because remember,
a lot of these new crop of MK cadres, the ’76 generation, were people who came
from high schools and universities. So there was sort of that inclination
anyway. You know, grappling with ideas—the young and exciting new ideas. So he
was very attractive to them.
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