Colin Legum
3 January 1919 - 8 July 2003
Colin Legum was a well-known South African author, journalist, and writer who focused on African politics for the majority of the twentieth century. Legum authored numerous books during his lifetime, many of which were well-received, including Africa since independence (1999) and Pan-Africanism: A Short Political Guide (1962).
Image taken from Spartacus Educational
Legum was a remarkable anti-apartheid activist who, while in the United Kingdom, drew attention to African history and contemporary issues.
Early Life
Colin Legum was born on January 3rd, 1919 in Kestell, an Orange Free State rural settlement. He was born to Lithuanian-Jewish immigrants who settled in South Africa and managed their hotel. Legum was raised by a Sotho nurse, which exposed him to numerous injustices and cruel treatment of black people. He was passionate about South Africa and the struggles of blacks, but he was also politically sympathetic to Zionism (A nationalist and ideological movement amongst Jewish people). When Legum matriculated, he was ranked seventh in the country, an extraordinary achievement considering he attended a school in a remote village.
Johannesburg
Legum moved to Johannesburg at the age of seventeen to work as an office boy for the Sunday Express. He worked for a weekly wage of one pound and was quickly promoted to the position of crime reporter for the newspaper. Legum joined the South African Labour Party in 1939 after rejecting Marxism-Leninism. He also became the editor of the party's newspapers, Forward and The Mineworker. In 1942, he was elected to the Johannesburg City Council, where he rose to the position of City Council Leader, chairing the General Purposes Committee. Legum recognized that, with the Afrikaner Nationalists assuming power in 1948, his political aspirations for South Africa were unlikely to be realized, even more so as a journalist.
Britain
Legum emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1949, as the National Party came to power and implemented Apartheid. Legum found work as a member of a research team at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. This led him to meet and later work with the millionaire and editor of The Observer, David Astor, who was also against the policies in South Africa. He was one of the first journalists in the United Kingdom to devote his work exclusively to Africa and its issues.
Legum remained actively involved in South African issues and joined the Africa Bureau, which was led by Scott and Marry Benson. He campaigned for South African reform. Legum wrote numerous books throughout his life, beginning with Attitude to Africa in 1952, which he co-authored with Michael Scott and other activists. Following this, he wrote multiple popular books during the decolonization period of African countries, including the Congo Disaster (1961) and Pan-Africanism: A Brief History (1962). Legum was acquainted with prominent African nationalist leaders, including Oliver Tambo and Julius Nyerere. He married Margaret Roberts, a South African economist after his first wife (Eugenie) died in 1960. They collaborated on South Africa: A Crisis for the West (1964), the first public call for economic sanctions against South Africa. Legum was banned in South Africa and Rhodesia in 1962.
The Observer was transferred to "Tiny" Rowland in 1982, bringing Legum's tenure as Associate Editor to an end after 30 years. His most recent book, Africa Since Independence, was published in 1998.
Return to South Africa
Legum returned to South Africa in 1996 to live in Kalk Bay, near Cape Town, as the Apartheid government came to an end and democracy took hold. He devoted a great amount of time to his family and hobbies such as fishing. Additionally, he taught a summer school course at the University of Cape Town on African development. Colin Legum died on 8 June 2003 in Cape Town.
Although he did not receive widespread recognition for his many years of service to their cause, those advocating for African emancipation, South African democracy, and human rights regarded him as an elderly figure.
References
Colin Legum (2013). Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/colin-legum-36609.html (Accessed: 7 May 2021).
Colin Legum (2021). Available at: https://spartacus-educational.com/JOUlegum.htm (Accessed: 7 May 2021).
LEGUM, Colin (1919-2003) - Archives Hub (2021). Available at: https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/8c371857-0e8f-3d72-bbde- e0661e026b2a (Accessed: 7 May 2021).
Obituary: Colin Legum (2003). Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jun/09/guardianobituaries.pressandpublish ing (Accessed: 7 May 2021).
