Tammy O'Reilly
22 September 2006
A plaque inscribed with the words "The Mother of African Freedom In This Country" has been unveiled in Soweto, Johannesburg to honour the legacy of activist Charlotte Makgomo Maxeke.
The plaque, unveiled by the SA Heritage Resources Agency at Soweto's Nancefield Road Cemetery on 14 September, also pays homage to the contribution other women made to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa.
Maxeke first entered the history books in 1901 when she became the first African woman to graduate from the Wilberforce University in the US with a Bachelor of Science degree.
On her return to South Africa, she was instrumental in introducing the African Methodist Episcopal Church to the country. Members of this church were to play a leading role in the founding of the African National Congress (ANC).
Maxeke led the first anti-pass march to Botha's Hill in 1913 and later founded the Bantu Women's League. She died in 1939.
The SA Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) has also launched a project to record the names of all South Africans who died during the apartheid struggle, both locally and abroad.
The project "will inform any future policies that may be drawn up on the exhumation and repatriation of human remains, and it's also a means of closure for relatives and family members," says Troy Philie, manager of Sahra's burial and graves unit.
Almost 10 000 names have already been gathered from existing records like newspapers and now-defunct organisations that were watchdogs on apartheid and human rights violations.
In Gauteng alone, about 3 000 names that had previously not been recorded have been entered onto the list, a number that is sure to increase once more people become aware of the project.
"As the legislative body tasked with preserving our country's heritage, we feel it's our duty to honour the properties and graves of the people that played such a significant role in bringing about democracy," says Philie.
"That way we also keep their names alive and we remember the sacrifices that they made during that time."
Source: City of Johannesburg
