In honour of Ruth First

“We will go down as we lived - fighting.” Ruth First

Professor Gavin Williams delivered an enthralling memorial seminar in honour of heroic struggle activist, journalist and scholar, Ruth First this week. The much-anticipated speaker was introduced by members of the Ruth First House committee who paid tribute to this inspirational icon with moving poetry and heartfelt homage.

Held on the 26th anniversary of her assassination by apartheid police, the lecture provided an overview of her life’s work and delved into the prevalent themes covered in her illustrious academic career.

Professor Williams, a Fellow of St Peter's College and Lecturer in Politics at the University of Oxford, who was colleague and friend to First, spoke candidly about their relationship and about the clarity and power of her celebrated academic writing. First, who was married to fellow freedom fighter and communist thinker, Joe Slovo, spearheaded several academic interventions which furthered the revolutionary cause.

First’s journalistic and scholarly exposés, which helped earn her the antagonism of the apartheid government, always displayed a passionate commitment to research and investigation.

Labour in Africa was First’s foremost area of inquiry and she revealed the poverty and inadequate conditions faced by farm and mine labourers at a time when such humanitarian thought was not fashionable. Her courageous resistance of popular political dictates was in fact a hallmark of her life’s work.

First exposed the plight of migrant labourers who travelled from Mozambique to satisfy the South African mining industry’s demand for cheap abundant labour. Also worth noting is that the scope of her intellectual interventions and political exposés was not limited to South Africa but encompassed the entire continent.

As a writer, she was grounded in empirical evidence and avoided being bogged down in theory. Williams described her scholarly discourse as superior to that of other academics because of her extensive background in writing, especially of the journalistic genre, as well as her ability to convey complex ideas with precision and finesse.

The talk was peppered with delightful personal revelations about Ruth First such as her impeccable fashion sense, her adoration of Italian shoes and the fact that she was curiously referred to as “Mrs Slovo” by prosecutors at the infamous Rivonia Treason Trial.

Several insightful contributions came from the audience and the lecture bloomed into a profound scholarly discussion. One of the issues which emerged was the history of the debate around Rhodes University’s name and whether the name Ruth First University could be more appropriate. Vice-Chancellor Saleem Badat also aired his thoughts on this prospect before eloquently thanking the speaker and closing the event.