Sol Plaatje at 150: why a pioneering South African change-maker still inspires today

On 9 October 1876, Solomon Tshekisho “Sol” Plaatje was born in the rural interior of what is now South Africa.

He was raised in a Setswana -speaking Barolong family and grew up on a German mission station in the then Cape Colony.

At this time, the region was made up of a mix of British colonies, independent Boer republics, and territories under African control.

It was only in 1910 that white rule would be consolidated under the nation state of South Africa.

Race policies hardened, ultimately developing into the adoption of apartheid in 1948.

Read more: Anniversaries spark renewed readings of South Africa’s celebrated Sol Plaatje By the time of his death in 1932, Plaatje was one of the most respected and prominent Black people of his generation, recognised for his abilities even by his detractors.

Today Plaatje may be best known as a pioneering journalist, newspaper editor and writer, a campaigner for rights, and founding general secretary of the resistance movement that would one day govern a democratic South Africa, the African National Congress .

But he was much more besides, as research continues to reveal.

As a scholar of South African literary and intellectual traditions, I have researched Plaatje and his work for many years.

In my view, he matters today on the world stage and across so many realms because his legacy has both influenced and transcended politics in South Africa.

It connects to wider movements and efforts for meaningful change and innovation.

He refused to let his fight against racial injustice and subjugation remain isolated.

He understood that the British Empire operated worldwide, and actively connected with key figures in the global Black diaspora on his travels and through correspondence.

He also formed ties with the women’s suffrage movement.