In 1912, on this day, a group of Black Middle-Class men convened to establish what would become Africa’s most influential liberation movement, the ANC, laying the foundation for a movement rooted in African nationalism and democracy.
The
intellectual prowess concentrated in Mangaung crafted a vision whose reach
remains elusive to the modern-day heirs of its leadership. Shaped by
intellectuals who became nodes of mobilisation through their privileged mission
school education, which connected them to university education overseas, the
ANC became the ideational Mecca of African politics.
Funded
by a then land-owning class of traditional leaders, black labour brokers who
traded with the then mining magnates, attracted by both the Kimberly diamond
finds and the Pilgrim's Rest-cum-Witwatersrand gold discoveries, its agenda
could only be liberal and Wilberforcean in outlook. The preponderance of
religious leaders, in the main African Independent Churches, dictated a
Christian orientation in the conduct of political business.
Joined
in large numbers by a Victorian elitism-influenced middle class, the ANC became
a Nationalist Movement whose orientation was getting a seat or more at the
proverbial table of political power dining. Inevitably, at its formation, the
ANC became vulnerable to the ideological persuasion of a leadership coalition
that ascended to ‘power’.
As
we mark its 114th birthday, the ANC is in a permanent ecdysis. The
difficulty of shedding its liberation movement skin in favour of a political
party operating in a dispensation that expects it to be about the country’s
constitution has returned the ANC to its founding condition, which defined no
strict ideology save contesting for political power, as when it was formed. The
expanded definition of ‘the poor’ from that which was in the aftermath of 1912
is laden with ‘interests’ that have become a condition of new politics.
The
growing grip of a multi-racial, moneyed, land-owning, and capital-controlling
class has not only sharpened the need to repurpose ANCness but also increased
the urgency for members to engage in internal discourse on what constitutes
ANCness, fostering hope for renewal and relevance.
Faced with slightly
below 40% voter support among the not more than 15 million South Africans who voted, the 114th birthday celebrations highlight the ANC's age and heritage, reminding us of its responsibility to uphold its legacy and remain relevant in society.
It is its antique
character that defines the brittle character of its reputation. Maintenance of
its objects and the reasons for its formation should be its preoccupation, as
this affects its continued relevance to society. It is heritage in motion and practice.
It carries within itself the thoughts, beliefs, aspirations, decisions,
emotions, and the history of sacrifices of a people set on a mission to
establish a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, united, and prosperous society.
It has, for most of its
history, and arguably continuing, been a proxy for any noise on social and
economic justice, human dignity, human rights, achievement of equality, and
universal suffrage. As we sing the happy birthday song, cut the big cake, take
proverbial turns to eat it, and chew it in the glare of those who entrusted us
with its heritage, we must do so knowing that none amongst those who lead it
are, by age or otherwise, bigger than the ANC.
Happy
Birthday ANC,
From the Thinc Foundation.
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