Final Freedom Charter 5/3/05 4:00 PM Page 1

1 Final Freedom Charter 5/3/05 4:00 PM Page 1 Copyright Department of Education 2005 ISBN 1- 77018-047-8 All rights reserved. You may copy material from this publication for use in non-profit education programmes if youacknowledge the source. For use in publications, please obtain the written permission of the Department of from Bailie s African History Archives, Wits Archive, Mayibuye Centre, Sowetan, Kliptown Museum, New Age,Jurgen Schadeberg, South Photos, SASPU National, Andrew Tshabangu and Omar Researcher: Rita : Race and Values in EducationRoom 223123 Schoeman StreetPretoria 0001 Tel (012 )312 5080 Fax (012) 326 1909 Design and layout : South African History for the Government Printer by ..ContentMinister s ForewordPage 2 History of the Freedom CharterPage 3 The Freedom CharterPage 12 Preamble to the 1996 ConstitutionPage 15 The 1950 s Planned Inferior EducationPage 16 Celebrating 10 years of Freedom the rebirth of a trulySouth African education systemHonouring the memory of all a national Oral History ProjectPage 18 Guidance for the Creative ProcessPage 20 South African best books of the best 101 African booksPage 21 Doing Research in your own communityPage 22 Sugestions for teachersPage 23 School ActivitiesPage 24 The Department of Education s National School CompetitionPage 27 Entry FormsPage 29 Programme of Activities Page 30 Final Freedom Charter 5/3/05 4.

2 00 PM Page 21 Minister s ForewordThis year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress ofthe People on 26 June the occasion of the forty sixth anniversary of the Freedom Charter in 2001, President ThaboMbeki implored all of us to take additional measures to familiarise greater numbers of our peoplewith the Freedom Charter . This year provides us with the opportunity to discuss, debate andconvince all our people of the continued relevance of the Charter to the South Africa of today. TheFreedom Charter is not merely an historical document. As the President said: It remains still, animportant guide about the direction in which we should all take our country as a consequence ofits reconstruction and development. The Department of Education will mark this auspicious occasion by celebrating the transformation process in education and the huge strides thatwe have made since 1994.

3 The theme of the celebrations is: The doors of learning and culture shall be opened through quality education forall. As Minister of Education, I invite all schools to participate in the Celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter atthe Congress of the People on 26 June guidebook serves to remind and educate all of us on the significance of the Freedom Charter in South Africa s history. It takes us on anhistorical journey over the past fifty years but also serves to remind us how far we have importance of the struggle for Freedom and democracy should not be lost on our youth. They need to know of the sacrifices of individuals,both famous and unknown, guided by the values that are embedded in both the Freedom Charter and our South African Constitution. It is theseheroes who helped us to achieve one of the greatest triumphs of the modern world democracy in South Africa.

4 Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Charter will allow us to reflect, celebrate and showcase the extent to which the doors of learning andculture have been opened in the first decade of Freedom . Planned activities aim to promote arts and culture in schools as well as the recognitionand promotion of all South Africa s languages, particularly through the National Language Festival and the National Schools Department of Education s programme for the year also focuses on the promotion of sporting activities in schools, particularly now that theUnited Nations has designated 2005 as the year of physical education and sport. My Department s commitment to the promotion and achievement of gender equity in all schools is reflected in the National Girls Gamesplanned for August 2005, as well as the SADC Girls Conference that will create an opportunity for girl learners in Southern Africa to cometogether and strengthen the Girls Education Movement that works towards the identification and support of leadership amongst young girllearners.

5 In partnership with South African History Online, we will also during the course of the year encourage learners to research the lives ofindividuals in their communities thus bringing back to public memory the roles played by numerous people in uplifting communities and in thestruggle for Freedom . This will be run as a competition and special awards known as the Albert Luthuli Young Historians Awards will be given toFET winners of the research essay encourage all schools to participate not only in the nationally organised events, but to be creative in developing schools and classroom levelactivities involving learners, parents, schools governing bodies and members of the community. Let us mark this significant event of the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People together andcelebrate our GNM PANDOR, MPMINISTER OF EDUCATION I encourage all schools to participate not only in the nationally organised events,but to be creative in developing schools and classroom level activities involvinglearners, parents, schools governing bodies and members of the community.

6 Final Freedom Charter 5/3/05 4:00 PM Page 47 July 19507 July 1950 17 July 1950 The Group Areas Act is passed, curbing movement of Blacks into cities and Whites-only areas. Semi-urban Black, Indian and Coloured townships are created. The Population Registration Act is passed. Blacks are forced to carrypassbooks as a means of influx control .The Suppression of Communism Act is of people organise! delegates then presented their various pointswhich were then opened for discussion. Ifanyone had any suggestions or amendmentsthey were afforded the opportunity to step upto the podium and make their remarks. Thepoint was then put to a vote, determiningwhich demands should be included in CoP National Consultative Committeehad already drafted a proposed document,which was tabled for Congress started late on Saturdayafternoon largely due to the organisers waitingfor countrywide delegates to arrive.

7 Theproceedings opened with a prayer and thereading of messages from the Indian, Chineseand other progressive governments andorganisations. A recorded speech by ChiefAlbert Luthuli was played to the conferenceand the Congress then conferred the newlycreated Isitwalandwe/Seaparankoeaward onLuthuli, Dadoo and Father Trevor first day ended with the public reading ofthe Draft Freedom Charter . This had to be donelargely in the dark, as the conference lights didnot function. The second day the delegateshad the opportunity to discuss and vote onclauses of the draft Charter by a simple showof hands. Some people, like Lion of the East GertSibande, attended the congress in disguisebecause of banning orders. When Sibande sturn came to address the crowd he walked upto the podium and removed his of the South African Police SpecialBranch at the meeting immediately surroundedhim, but they were ordered to step down inorder to maintain the peace.

8 The proceedingson the first day of the CoP continued until theevening. Present that day was ANC PresidentGeneral Chief Albert Luthuli, Dr. Dadoo, This ground onwhich we arestanding heretoday is holy,friends. This shallbe the monumentof the people ofSouth Africa - Robert ReshaProf Z. K. Matthews 1901 1968 Bridging the gap betweenthe old guard and the moremilitant younger members of the AfricanNational Congress in the late 1940s and1950s, ZK Matthews exercised a majorguiding and moderating influence on Africanpolitical history in its most crucial period. Hewas at the same time South Africa s, andperhaps the continent s, most distinguishedAfrican intellectual. He was instrumental ininitiating the Congress of the People with hiscall for a national convention at which allgroups might be represented to consider ournational problems on an all-inclusive basis (to)draw up a Freedom Charter for thedemocratic South Africa of the future.

9 History of the Freedom CHARTER26 March 1950 The Defend Free Speech Convention in Jhb proclaims May 1st as Freedom Day and calls on all organisations to May 195026 June 1950A general strike against all discriminatory laws and for full franchise rightsis held. Police kill 18 and wound 30 in Alexandra Township and Reef Day of National Protest & Mourning is held. June 26 is observed as SAFreedom Day until 1994, when 27 April becomes Freedom Congress of the People 25 June 1955 The CoP was scheduled to begin shortly after lunch on Saturday 25 June 1955. Some of the delegates, like Ellen Lambert, the TransvaalSecretary of the South African Coloured People s Organisation(SACPO), remembers getting up at 4 o clock in the morning to attendthe people had already arrived by 11 o clock and by 3 o clock inthe afternoon thousands of people of different races had arrived bybus, truck, car and even by foot.

10 Some believe that on the first day3000 people gathered in the crudely constructed hessian and wireenclosure, and another 2000 people stood outside. There were 1500 African delegates, 320 Indian, 230 Coloured and 112 Whiteaccredited delegates from across the land, as well as many events later, some delegates described the atmosphere asfestive. The organisation of the eventhad been meticulous and there was evenfood provided for the vegetarians in thecrowd. This largest and most representativepolitical gathering in the country s history to thatdate was well reported by the mainstream English andAfrikaans press. The police, who were present throughout the two days,took copious notes, but most of the surviving photographs of the COP weretaken secretly by the banned trade unionist, photographer and long-standing member of the outlawed communist party, Eli the beginning of the presentations the crowd sang songs, atelunch and read and discussed the pamphlets handed out by Johannesburg band opened the proceedings with music and theAt the Cape provincial congress of the African NationalCongress (ANC) in August 1953, Cape ANC presidentProfessor Matthews called for a national convention atwhich all groups might be represented to consider our nationalproblems on an all-inclusive basis (to) draw up a FreedomCharter for the democratic South Africa of the future.