Industrial Workers of Africa (1917) On this day in 1917, racially mixed study groups in South Africa founded the Industrial Workers of Africa, modeled on the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)....
Industrial Workers of Africa (1917) On this day in 1917, racially mixed study groups in South Africa founded the Industrial Workers of Africa, modeled on the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)....
Industrial Workers of Africa (1917)
Thu Sep 27, 1917
Image: The IWW logo
On this day in 1917, racially mixed study groups in South Africa founded the Industrial Workers of Africa, modeled on the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). The group's slogan was "Sifuna Zonke!" ("We want everything!").
The IWA was one of the first trade unions for African workers ever formed in South Africa. After calling a general strike, the South African government arrested and charged seven activists - three from the International Socialists League, three from the Industrial Workers of Africa, and two from the Transvaal Native Congress - for "incitement to public violence."
This trial would be the first time white and black activists are jointly charged for political activities in South Africa.
An excerpt from the IWA manifesto reads:
"There is only one way of deliverance for you Bantu workers. Unite as workers. Unite: forget the things which divide you. Let there be no longer any talk of Basuto, Zulu, or Shangaan. You are all labourers; let Labour be your common bond."
- Date: 1917-09-27
- Learn More: www.sahistory.org.za, libcom.org.
- Tags: #Labor, #IWW.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
Canada Bans IWW (1918) On this day in 1918, Canada declared the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), along with 13 other organizations, to be unlawful while the state was engaged in war. Penalty...