Remember Joe Slovo

Joe Slovo, South African communist and anti-apartheid icon, died on January 6, 1995. Slovo, who came to South Africa as a Lithuanian-Jewish immigrant, dedicated his life to overcoming apartheid and to a non-racist, socialist future for South Africa. His theoretical work, such as the concept of the "Southern Route Strategy," shaped discussions within the liberation movement. Today marks the anniversary of the death of Joe Slovo, an icon in the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Slovo joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) in 1942 at the age of 16, inspired by the Soviet Red Army's fight against Nazism. He served with South African forces in North Africa and Italy during World War II and, upon his return, co-founded the multiracial Springbok Legion, an association of veteran soldiers. Slovo co-authored the Freedom Charter in 1955 and was arrested during the treason trial in 1956 and the Sharpeville State of Emergency in 1960. In 1961, he helped Nelson Mandela found uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the armed wing of the ANC, and from exile, he directed sabotage operations against the infrastructure of the apartheid regime from the 1960s to the 1980s. In 1989, Slovo was elected Secretary-General of the SACP and in 1992 proposed the so-called "Sunset Clauses" to facilitate the end of apartheid through transitional guarantees. In 1990, he returned from exile, negotiated with the regime, and served as Minister of Housing in Mandela's 1994 government until his death on January 6, 1995. Slovo was Secretary General of the South African Communist Party (SACP) from 1984 to 1995, Chief of Staff of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), and served until his death from cancer in 1995. The SACP honors Slovo and his life every year on this day. SACP Statement from 2022: "While the history of the South African liberation and social struggle is a shared history of intertwined struggles for class, national, and gender transformation, the outstanding role of dedicated individuals deserves special recognition. Slovo was one of the great thinkers, strategists, tacticians, and leaders of this struggle. He contributed both intellectually and practically to the realization of democracy in South Africa and, within the framework of a socialist transition, spearheaded a broader social transformation that followed the aims of the Freedom Charter and beyond." His legacy continues to be recognized in South Africa, even though his staunchly communist ideology evokes both admiration and controversy. Slovo embodied the connection between the fight against apartheid and the pursuit of social and economic justice. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/359143905_A_Gendered_Approach_to_the_Yu_Chi_Chan_Club_and_National_Liberation_Front_during_South_Africa's_Transition_to_Armed_Struggle