Sol
Plaatje
By:
Fauna
Sol
Plaatje was a political figure and writer. He was born in Boshof, South America.
He was a multitalented man. He was an author journalist linguist and polemicist.
He could speak at least 8 languages.
He
made a great input in the literature bracket, in both
his native tongue, Setswana, and English
He made the first Tswana-language newspaper. He translated plays and wrote the
novel
Mhudi. He wrote this novel in 1930.
Mhudi
was the first novel in English to be written by a black South African
He was a founder member of African National Congress and was the first
secretary-general. He devoted his many talents to one overriding cause: the
struggle of the African people against injustice and dispossession during the
second half of the 19th century. He
was also the first known black person to keep a diary during a protracted war.
He
was a committed Christian, responsible for organizing the interdenominational
Christian Brotherhood devoted to the ideals of equality and fraternity in
Kimberley.
Though
he died in 1932 his home, library and museum are all still alive. The Sol
Plaatje Educational Trust is paying for them to stay alive.
www.biography.com