John Langalibalele Dube
Encyclopedia
John Langalibalele Dube (1871
- 1946
) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress which became the African National Congress
in 1923. Dube served as SANNC president between 1912 and 1917.
Dube was born in Natal at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission (AZM), a branch of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
. His father, the Rev. James Dube, was one of the first ordained African pastors of the AZM. Dube began his formal education in Inanda
and Adams College, Amanzimtoti. In 1887
he left for the United States of America where he studied at Oberlin College
.
Dube was born of royal lineage and was by right a chief of the Qadi tribe. Because of Dube's father's conversion to Christianity by early missionaries in pre-republic South Africa, he did not rule over his Qadi people. Dube's name was actually Ngcobo, who have the chieftancy of the Qadi people of the Zulu.
As a missionary educated person there was conflict between the newly-arrived Western education and African traditional society. However, Dube navigated this social schism with a statesmen-like ability, as in his later years, when he was able to win the trust of the Zulu royal family. It is conceivable that Dube would never have been part of the SANC, except that his teaching and discourse on the necessity of unity chimed in with the then nascent political atmosphere. It is now fashionable for biased historians to mention Dube's conservatism as evidence of his eventual parting of ways with ANC. But, actually, the truth is that the ANC was never a radical movement on the call of such issues as universal suffrage until it was radicalised by the formation of the ANC Youth League in the 1940s.
Dube's speeches as president of a black political mass-movement, have never been made available - the next formation of black people into a coherent socio-political movement was to come into being with Marcus Garvey
's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
, founded in 1914. In his politics Dube was cautious and conservative, yet he was forthright on the rights of blacks and the paramount tenet of unity - he foresaw the necessity of the unity of black people long before Garvey came to the international scene.
Dube was also an educator, a speaker of note on the circuit engaging whites in lectures around the country. As an educator he founded the school for girls (see below). He gave many lecturers on invitation and was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy as a result. His role as an educator has been less documented, but he held and proposed views on education and culture that were to be used in inimical ways by the Apartheid government when it came into power in 1948 and legislating the Bantu Education Act
. Dube had identified the need to combine Western education with local customs and traditions, all grounded in broad African communal behaviour. His theories on education are found in both Ukuziphatha and in Isita.
He was among the pioneering men of letters who helped to establish Zulu literature. He was one of the first published Zulu authors, although the first published Zulu book was written by Magema Fuze whose history of the Zulus, Abantu abamnyama lapo bavela ngakona (translated as "The Black People and From Whence They Came"), was published in 1922 having been written in the 1880's and early 1890's. Dube's first published work was an essay in English on self-improvement and public decency that was published in 1910. The work that was to earn Dube the honorary doctorate of philosophy was the essay Umuntu Isita Sake Uqobo Lwake (A man is his own worst enemy) (1992)(text in pre-1936 Zulu old orthography). He went on to publish a historical novella that has proven to be popular and influential in Zulu canon titled Insila kaShaka (Shaka's Body Servant) (1930). Dube also embarked on writing biographies of the Zulu royal family, especially that of King Dinizulu, making him the first biographer in African literature. There are numerous other works of less significant literary quality such as the essay Ukuziphatha [On Behaviour] (1910).
In addition to his literary works, Dube was a productive man who founded the first Zulu
/English
newspaper Ilanga laseNatali (The Sun of Natal) in 1903, a publication that in 2003 celebrated its centenary. Ilanga laseNatali is no longer independent since being bought by the then proto-political association Inkatha yeNkululelo yeSizwe in 1988, led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi
, later to be known as a political party in post-apartheid South Africa called Inkatha Freedom Party
(IFP). Dube wrote and edited numerous editorials for the paper and under various pseudonyms as well as publishing some indifferent poems. He nurtured journalist who later on went to become editors at his paper and contributed to the flourishing field of Zulu literature.
Dube had experienced first-hand the influence of Booker T. Washington
in his travels to the US to expand his education in early 1890. He came to found the Inanda Seminary Institute for Girls
at Ohlange in 1901, a school dedicated to teaching Bantu women modern ways in order to be liberated and find a place in modern society. In his Ukuziphatha Dube had identified the Bantu woman as the weakness in developing Bantu society because of the society's restrictions on education for women and what he identified as woman's propensity to ephemera. Dube was particularly influenced by reading Washington's Up From Slavery
, a book on self-reliance, the gospel that was taught by the American sage Ralph Waldo Emerson
. Washington's book was to prove immensely influential in Bantu thought and across the black world. It was subsequently translated into several Bantu languages in South Africa, but Dube never chose to translate it, instead putting its teachings into practice. This was to be a feat that was never duplicated, except by Garvey and his movement and, on a minor scale, by the political figure Steve Biko
in his hometown of King William's Town
in the province of the Eastern Cape. Dube had been inspired by Washington's Tuskegee Institute; years later Marcus Garvey was to attempt to see Washington because of a similar inspiration, though he arrived in the US in 1916 with Washington having died the previous year. Dube's school is still functioning till today. Dube was a firm believer in self-reliance, both as an ethical and spiritual quest towards realisation of dignity and respect in the eyes of others. In Isita he preached self-reliance and the need for black people to initiate economic ventures in order to gain respect in the eyes of the world.
In 1901
John Dube established the Zulu Christian Industrial School at Ohlange, near Phoenix
and EkuPhakameni.
1871 in South Africa
-Events:* Gold is discovered in Pilgrim's Rest area* A mail route is established from Cape Town to the diamond fields* An diamond is discovered and leads to a diamond rush...
- 1946
1946 in South Africa
-March:* 12 March - The South African Indian Congress delegation is received by the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, in Delhi, India, submitting a petition drafted in consultation with Mohandas Gandhi.** The Indian Representative Act is also repealed....
) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress which became the African National Congress
African 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...
in 1923. Dube served as SANNC president between 1912 and 1917.
Dube was born in Natal at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission (AZM), a branch of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions
The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was the first American Christian foreign mission agency. It was proposed in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College and officially chartered in 1812. In 1961 it merged with other societies to form the United Church Board for World...
. His father, the Rev. James Dube, was one of the first ordained African pastors of the AZM. Dube began his formal education in Inanda
Inanda
Two places in South Africa bear the name "Inanda":* Inanda, Gauteng, a suburb of Johannesburg* Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, a town outside DurbanA number of ships have also been named Inanda, three ships of this name...
and Adams College, Amanzimtoti. In 1887
1887 in South Africa
-Events:* The town of Boksburg is laid out to serve the surrounding gold mines* The Stellenbosch Gymnasium changes its name to Victoria College , later becomes the Stellenbosch University-Deaths:...
he left for the United States of America where he studied at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
.
Dube was born of royal lineage and was by right a chief of the Qadi tribe. Because of Dube's father's conversion to Christianity by early missionaries in pre-republic South Africa, he did not rule over his Qadi people. Dube's name was actually Ngcobo, who have the chieftancy of the Qadi people of the Zulu.
As a missionary educated person there was conflict between the newly-arrived Western education and African traditional society. However, Dube navigated this social schism with a statesmen-like ability, as in his later years, when he was able to win the trust of the Zulu royal family. It is conceivable that Dube would never have been part of the SANC, except that his teaching and discourse on the necessity of unity chimed in with the then nascent political atmosphere. It is now fashionable for biased historians to mention Dube's conservatism as evidence of his eventual parting of ways with ANC. But, actually, the truth is that the ANC was never a radical movement on the call of such issues as universal suffrage until it was radicalised by the formation of the ANC Youth League in the 1940s.
Dube's speeches as president of a black political mass-movement, have never been made available - the next formation of black people into a coherent socio-political movement was to come into being with Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH was a Jamaican publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black Nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League...
's Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League
The Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League is a black nationalist fraternal organization founded by Marcus Garvey. The organization enjoyed its greatest strength in the 1990s, prior to Garvey's deportation from the United States of America, after which its...
, founded in 1914. In his politics Dube was cautious and conservative, yet he was forthright on the rights of blacks and the paramount tenet of unity - he foresaw the necessity of the unity of black people long before Garvey came to the international scene.
Dube was also an educator, a speaker of note on the circuit engaging whites in lectures around the country. As an educator he founded the school for girls (see below). He gave many lecturers on invitation and was awarded a Doctorate of Philosophy as a result. His role as an educator has been less documented, but he held and proposed views on education and culture that were to be used in inimical ways by the Apartheid government when it came into power in 1948 and legislating the Bantu Education Act
Bantu Education Act
Bantu Education Act of 1953 was a South African law which codified several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision was enforced separation of races in all educational institutions. Even universities were made 'tribal', and all but three Missionary schools chose to close down when the...
. Dube had identified the need to combine Western education with local customs and traditions, all grounded in broad African communal behaviour. His theories on education are found in both Ukuziphatha and in Isita.
He was among the pioneering men of letters who helped to establish Zulu literature. He was one of the first published Zulu authors, although the first published Zulu book was written by Magema Fuze whose history of the Zulus, Abantu abamnyama lapo bavela ngakona (translated as "The Black People and From Whence They Came"), was published in 1922 having been written in the 1880's and early 1890's. Dube's first published work was an essay in English on self-improvement and public decency that was published in 1910. The work that was to earn Dube the honorary doctorate of philosophy was the essay Umuntu Isita Sake Uqobo Lwake (A man is his own worst enemy) (1992)(text in pre-1936 Zulu old orthography). He went on to publish a historical novella that has proven to be popular and influential in Zulu canon titled Insila kaShaka (Shaka's Body Servant) (1930). Dube also embarked on writing biographies of the Zulu royal family, especially that of King Dinizulu, making him the first biographer in African literature. There are numerous other works of less significant literary quality such as the essay Ukuziphatha [On Behaviour] (1910).
In addition to his literary works, Dube was a productive man who founded the first Zulu
Zulu language
Zulu is the language of the Zulu people with about 10 million speakers, the vast majority of whom live in South Africa. Zulu is the most widely spoken home language in South Africa as well as being understood by over 50% of the population...
/English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspaper Ilanga laseNatali (The Sun of Natal) in 1903, a publication that in 2003 celebrated its centenary. Ilanga laseNatali is no longer independent since being bought by the then proto-political association Inkatha yeNkululelo yeSizwe in 1988, led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Mangosuthu Buthelezi
Inkosi Mangosuthu Buthelezi is a South African Zulu politician who founded the Inkatha Freedom Party in 1975 and continues to lead the party today.His praise name is Shenge.-Early life:...
, later to be known as a political party in post-apartheid South Africa called Inkatha Freedom Party
Inkatha Freedom Party
The Inkatha Freedom Party is a political party in South Africa. Since its founding, it has been led by Mangosuthu Buthelezi. It is currently the fourth largest party in the National Assembly of South Africa.-History:...
(IFP). Dube wrote and edited numerous editorials for the paper and under various pseudonyms as well as publishing some indifferent poems. He nurtured journalist who later on went to become editors at his paper and contributed to the flourishing field of Zulu literature.
Dube had experienced first-hand the influence of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
in his travels to the US to expand his education in early 1890. He came to found the Inanda Seminary Institute for Girls
Ohlange High School
Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1901 as the "Zulu Christian Industrial School" by John Langalibalele Dube . Dube had been in contact with Booker T. Washington and modeled his school after the Tuskegee University.Enrollment as of...
at Ohlange in 1901, a school dedicated to teaching Bantu women modern ways in order to be liberated and find a place in modern society. In his Ukuziphatha Dube had identified the Bantu woman as the weakness in developing Bantu society because of the society's restrictions on education for women and what he identified as woman's propensity to ephemera. Dube was particularly influenced by reading Washington's Up From Slavery
Up From Slavery
Up from Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of Booker T. Washington detailing his slow and steady rise from a slave child during the Civil War, to the difficulties and obstacles he overcame to get an education at the new Hampton University, to his work establishing vocational schools—most notably the...
, a book on self-reliance, the gospel that was taught by the American sage Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century...
. Washington's book was to prove immensely influential in Bantu thought and across the black world. It was subsequently translated into several Bantu languages in South Africa, but Dube never chose to translate it, instead putting its teachings into practice. This was to be a feat that was never duplicated, except by Garvey and his movement and, on a minor scale, by the political figure Steve Biko
Steve Biko
Stephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the...
in his hometown of King William's Town
King William's Town
King William's Town is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa along the banks of the Buffalo River. The town is about 40 minutes' motorway drive WNW of the Indian Ocean port of East London...
in the province of the Eastern Cape. Dube had been inspired by Washington's Tuskegee Institute; years later Marcus Garvey was to attempt to see Washington because of a similar inspiration, though he arrived in the US in 1916 with Washington having died the previous year. Dube's school is still functioning till today. Dube was a firm believer in self-reliance, both as an ethical and spiritual quest towards realisation of dignity and respect in the eyes of others. In Isita he preached self-reliance and the need for black people to initiate economic ventures in order to gain respect in the eyes of the world.
In 1901
1901 in South Africa
-January:* 15 January - The HMS Sybille, a 3400 ton Apollo class cruiser struck a reef about 5 km south of Lamberts Bay* 31 January - General Jan Smuts and his commandos captures Modderfontein, Transvaal, during the Second Boer War...
John Dube established the Zulu Christian Industrial School at Ohlange, near Phoenix
Phoenix, Durban
Phoenix is an Indian township, northwest of central Durban. It was established as a township in 1976, but it has a long history of Indian occupation...
and EkuPhakameni.