The ghost of equality
Subtitle: the public lives of D.D.T. Jabavu of South Africa, 1885-1959
By: Catherine Higgs.
Publisher: Ohio University Press; David Philip; Mayibuye Books, University of the Western Cape
Published: 1997
Place of publication: Athens; Cape Town; Bellville
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
Subjects: Jabavu, Davidson D. T. b. 1885; South Africa -- Race relations
Description: In the Ghost of Equality, Catherine Higgs chronicles the public lives of D.D.T. Jabavu. As a college lecturer, an advocate for teachers and farmers, and a Methodist lay preacher, Jabavu argued for African rights to national and international audiences.

In segregated South Africa, he saw himself as an interpreter between whites and blacks; from the 1920s through the 1940s he participated actively in black politics, cooperated with white liberal critics of the state, and lobbied sympathetic white politicians. In his later years, he found himself eclipsed by a resurgent African nationalism and by the apartheid state. Opposed to confrontation, he remained an advocate of peaceful negotiation, and the successes and pitfalls of his approach provide the map of his life and the measure of his contributions.

Higg's study affords us a glimpse into the life of an early and important advocate for social change in South Africa.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-268) and index.