La Guma, Alex

Alex La Guma was born in 1925, son of one of the leading figures in the non-white liberation movement. As a young man he joined the Communist Party, and was a member of its Cape Town district committee until 1950, when it was banned. In 1956 he helped to organize the South African representatives who drew up the Freedom Chapter, and consequently was among the 156 accused at the Treason Trials of the same year. In 1960 he began writing for New Age, a progressive newspaper, and in 1962 was put under house arrest. Before his five-year sentence could elapse, a No Trial Act was passed and he and hi...