Frances Baard
Encyclopedia
Frances Goitsemang Baard (1 October 1909–1997) was a South African trade unionist, organiser for the African National Congress Women's League
and a Patron of the United Democratic Front
, who was commemorated in the renaming of the Diamantveld District Municipality (Kimberley) as the Frances Baard District Municipality
.
, who had gone to Kimberley to work on the mines, while her mother, Sarah Voss, was a Tswana person from Kimberley. She married Lucas Baard in Port Elizabeth in 1942, having known him from school days in Kimberley.
She attended the Racecourse Primary School and the Lyndhurst Road School in Malay Camp
, Kimberley, before enrolling for a short time at Kimberley’s famous Perseverance School
(cut short owing to the death of her father). She worked briefly as a teacher and then, moving to Port Elizabeth, as a domestic servant and a factory worker.
, which she joined in 1948, and a trade unionist, as a result of her experiences of oppression and exploitation under Apartheid. She was influenced by Raymond Mhlaba
and Ray Alexander
.
She was an organizer in the African National Congress Women's League
in 1952 at the time of the Defiance Campaign
, serving later in various posts including Secretary and Treasurer of the League’s Port Elizabeth branch. In the mid 1950s she served as National Treasurer of the Women’s League and was also an Executive Committee Member and local branch President of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).
and was one of the leaders of the Women’s march
to the Union Buildings
in Pretoria
on 9 August 1956 in protest against the pass laws
.
“A pass is this little book you must get when you are 16 and it says where you can work, and where you can be, and if you have got work. You can't get a job without this book. And you can only get a job where they stamp your pass to say 'Johannesburg' or 'Pretoria' and so on. You must carry it with you all the time because the police can ask you, 'Where is your pass?' any time, and then you must show them. If you haven't got your pass, they put you in jail for some days or else you must pay some money to get out.” – Frances Baard, in “My Spirit is not Banned”
In 1956 she was one of the defendants in the Treason Trial
and became an executive committee member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU).
for her involvement with ANC activities, being sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Her children were taken care of by relatives in Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.
(near Pretoria) where she died in 1997. In August 1983 Frances Baard attended the launch of the United Democratic Front
(UDF) in Cape Town, being elected a Patron and executive member.
Baard was a member of the Methodist Church and of its Women's Guild.
in honour of Frances Baard. The suggestion to recognise Frances Baard arose originally from a staff-member at Kimberley’s McGregor Museum
.
In commemoration of this daughter of Kimberley and the Northern Cape, and of her role in the Women's March on 9 August 1956, a bronze statue of her was unveiled in Kimberley by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Mrs Hazel Jenkins
, on 9 August 2009
. The inscription on the granite plinth cites the famous remark from her autobiography:
"My spirit is not banned - I still say I want freedom in my lifetime."
African National Congress Women's League
The African National Congress Women's League is the women's wing of the African National Congress . It was founded in 1931 as the Bantu Women's League, with Charlotte Maxeke as its first president. It was integrated into the ANC during the period from 1943, when women were first admitted as...
and a Patron of the United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (South Africa)
The United Democratic Front was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers' and other organisations was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced idea of the Tricameral Parliament The...
, who was commemorated in the renaming of the Diamantveld District Municipality (Kimberley) as the Frances Baard District Municipality
Frances Baard District Municipality
Frances Baard is one of the 5 districts of Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Frances Baard is Kimberley. The majority of its 324 814 people speak Afrikaans . The district code is DC9....
.
Background and education
Baard (also referred to as MaBaard) was born Frances Maswabi (or Masuabi), in Green Point, Beaconsfield, Kimberley, on 1 October 1909 (other sources suggest 1901). Her father was Herman Maswabi from Ramotswa in BotswanaBotswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, who had gone to Kimberley to work on the mines, while her mother, Sarah Voss, was a Tswana person from Kimberley. She married Lucas Baard in Port Elizabeth in 1942, having known him from school days in Kimberley.
She attended the Racecourse Primary School and the Lyndhurst Road School in Malay Camp
Malay Camp, Kimberley
The Malay Camp in Kimberley, South Africa, with a history similar to Cape Town's District Six, Johannesburg's Sophiatown and Port Elizabeth's South End, was a cosmopolitan suburb originating in the early days of Kimberley's existence but subject to forced 'slums clearance' after the owner of the...
, Kimberley, before enrolling for a short time at Kimberley’s famous Perseverance School
Perseverance School
The Perseverance School, Kimberley, was founded as such in 1883 but might be seen as having arisen from the St Cyprian's Mission School dating back to the early 1870s...
(cut short owing to the death of her father). She worked briefly as a teacher and then, moving to Port Elizabeth, as a domestic servant and a factory worker.
Political awakening
It was at this time that Baard became an activist in the African National CongressAfrican National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
, which she joined in 1948, and a trade unionist, as a result of her experiences of oppression and exploitation under Apartheid. She was influenced by Raymond Mhlaba
Raymond Mhlaba
Raymond Mhlaba was an anti-apartheid activist and leader of the African National Congress .Mhlaba spent 25 years of his life in prison. Well known for being sentenced, along with Nelson Mandela, in the Rivonia Trial, he was an active member of the ANC and the South African Communist Party all his...
and Ray Alexander
Ray Alexander
Vernest Raynard Alexander is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys. He also played eight seasons in the Canadian Football League for three different teams. He played college football at Florida A&M University.-References:...
.
She was an organizer in the African National Congress Women's League
African National Congress Women's League
The African National Congress Women's League is the women's wing of the African National Congress . It was founded in 1931 as the Bantu Women's League, with Charlotte Maxeke as its first president. It was integrated into the ANC during the period from 1943, when women were first admitted as...
in 1952 at the time of the Defiance Campaign
Defiance Campaign
The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951....
, serving later in various posts including Secretary and Treasurer of the League’s Port Elizabeth branch. In the mid 1950s she served as National Treasurer of the Women’s League and was also an Executive Committee Member and local branch President of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).
Freedom Charter and Women's March
Baard was actively involved in 1955 in the drafting on the Freedom CharterFreedom Charter
The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies - the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress...
and was one of the leaders of the Women’s march
National Women's Day
National Women's Day is an annual public holiday in South Africa on August 9. This commemorates the national march of women on this day in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass", special identification documents which curtailed an African's freedom of...
to the Union Buildings
Union Buildings
The Union Buildings form the official seat of the South African government and also house the offices of the President of South Africa. The imposing buildings are located in Pretoria, atop Meintjieskop at the Northern end of Arcadia, close to historic Church Square and the Voortrekker Monument...
in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
on 9 August 1956 in protest against the pass laws
Pass laws
Pass laws in South Africa were designed to segregate the population and limit severely the movements of the non-white populace. This legislation was one of the dominant features of the country's apartheid system. The Black population were required to carry these pass books with them when outside...
.
“A pass is this little book you must get when you are 16 and it says where you can work, and where you can be, and if you have got work. You can't get a job without this book. And you can only get a job where they stamp your pass to say 'Johannesburg' or 'Pretoria' and so on. You must carry it with you all the time because the police can ask you, 'Where is your pass?' any time, and then you must show them. If you haven't got your pass, they put you in jail for some days or else you must pay some money to get out.” – Frances Baard, in “My Spirit is not Banned”
In 1956 she was one of the defendants in the Treason Trial
Treason Trial
The Treason Trial was a trial in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956....
and became an executive committee member of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU).
Imprisonment
She was arrested in 1960 and then again in 1963 when she was kept in solitary confinement for 12 months. In 1964 she was arrested yet again under the Suppression of Communism ActSuppression of Communism Act
The Suppression of Communism Act, No. 44 of 1950 was legislation of the national government in South Africa, passed on June 26 of that year , which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed the ideology of communism, defined by the government as any scheme that aimed "at...
for her involvement with ANC activities, being sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Her children were taken care of by relatives in Port Elizabeth and Kimberley.
Banishment and subsequent political activity
Following her release in 1969, she was banished to Boekenhout, moving two years later when her banning order expired to MabopaneMabopane
Mabopane is a Township in South Africa. It is situated in the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, in the north of Gauteng.-History:Mabopane was proclaimed in the early 1970s as a black-only residential settlement by the then puppet government of Bophuthatswana under Kgosi Dr. Lucas Mangope...
(near Pretoria) where she died in 1997. In August 1983 Frances Baard attended the launch of the United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (South Africa)
The United Democratic Front was one of the most important anti-apartheid organisations of the 1980s. The non-racial coalition of about 400 civic, church, students', workers' and other organisations was formed in 1983, initially to fight the just-introduced idea of the Tricameral Parliament The...
(UDF) in Cape Town, being elected a Patron and executive member.
Baard was a member of the Methodist Church and of its Women's Guild.
Commemorated in the place of her birth
In June 2001, the "Diamantveld District Council", Kimberley, was renamed Frances Baard District MunicipalityFrances Baard District Municipality
Frances Baard is one of the 5 districts of Northern Cape province of South Africa. The seat of Frances Baard is Kimberley. The majority of its 324 814 people speak Afrikaans . The district code is DC9....
in honour of Frances Baard. The suggestion to recognise Frances Baard arose originally from a staff-member at Kimberley’s McGregor Museum
McGregor Museum
The McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a province-aided museum established in 1907.- Overview :...
.
In commemoration of this daughter of Kimberley and the Northern Cape, and of her role in the Women's March on 9 August 1956, a bronze statue of her was unveiled in Kimberley by the Premier of the Northern Cape, Mrs Hazel Jenkins
Hazel Jenkins
Hazel Gertrude Jenkins is a South African politician and Premier of the Northern Cape Province.-Background and political career:Aged 49 at the time that she assumed office as Premier, Jenkins had been the Mayor of the Pixley ka Seme District Municipality, at De Aar in the Karoo...
, on 9 August 2009
National Women's Day
National Women's Day is an annual public holiday in South Africa on August 9. This commemorates the national march of women on this day in 1956 to petition against legislation that required African persons to carry the "pass", special identification documents which curtailed an African's freedom of...
. The inscription on the granite plinth cites the famous remark from her autobiography:
"My spirit is not banned - I still say I want freedom in my lifetime."