Richard Conyngham

Honestly, this is a bit of an odd duck -- partly because it's such a unique viewpoint (court cases) and partly because it's not directly about apartheid; it's about some of the events and the legal decisions that underpinned the history leading up to apartheid. I found it appealing for a host of reasons, but I'm not sure how you categorize it.

Anyway, I feel that this book is an invaluable resource for understanding a long and troubled history. It's also really well done across the board -- compact and moving short narratives, excellent imagery, excellent storytelling and very fascinating source materials at the end of each chapter to back up the story as told. I was hoping this would be somehow more hopeful and less depressing, but given the subject matter that was a long hope and not necessarily a reasonable one. I also think maybe that since I don't know that much about South African history and apartheid that a more educated reader might be able to draw logical conclusions from these cases to add to their understanding of the whole. For me, I found it really interesting, but I didn't have the background to say, oh! so the widow story leads to this movement that eventually brought apartheid down -- but I suspect that longer narrative is present for someone with more context.

I'd love to see more of this sort of book in the future. Personal stories, stories of less famous activists who nonetheless have a large impact on the future, history of courts -- these are all powerful, and an even more powerful incentive to do better in the future. Really well done.

Advanced Reader's Copy provided by Edelweiss.… (más)

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss.)

Culled from over a century of case records housed in the Supreme Court of Appeals basement archive in Bloemfontein, the six graphic stories in ALL RISE: RESISTANCE AND REBELLION IN SOUTH AFRICA illuminate dark corners of South Africa's past: unsung heroes (and villains); oppression and inequity, met with bravery and resistance; legal battles that either bore justice or, more often than not, laid the groundwork for many more decades of suffering.

Conyngham concentrates on the "Union Years" - the years between South Africa's unification in 1910 and the beginning of apartheid in 1948 - and each story is illustrated by a South African artist:

"Until the Ship Sails" - Indian immigrants who traveled to South Africa as indentured servants were forced to carry registration certificates at all times, leading to Satyagraha, in which cards were burned en mass

"In the Shadow of a High Stone Wall" - The 1911 Johannesburg municipal tram workers' strike

"Come Gallows Grim" - The 1922 Rand Rebellion, an armed uprising of white gold miners in the Witwatersrand region; or rather, the questionable trial and execution of one of the rebels, Taffy Long, for murder

"The Widow of Marabastad" - The attempt, in 1925, to apply pass laws to women, and the mass protests and civil disobedience that ensued

"A House Divided" - An attempt in the early 1920s by some members of the Royal Bafokeng Nation to steer their monarchy in a more democratic direction, spurred in part by the malfeasance of their ruler, August Molotlegi

"Here I Cross to the Other Side" - The African miners' strike of 1946, "the first major union-led industrial action by African workers in South African history," which left at least nine workers dead, 1250 injured, and resulted in the downfall of the African Mine Workers Union (AMWU)

Conyngham manages to distill these chapters of South African history into engaging, informative narratives - especially impressive when there's precious little for him to work with, as is the case with "The Widow of Marabastad." ALL RISE is a welcome jumping off point for those wishing to learn more about South African history, especially in regards to racism, capitalism, and labor rights.… (más)