Native Life in South Africa

Native Life in South Africa (1916) is a book by Solomon T. Plaatje. Written while Plaatje was serving as General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress, the work shows the influence of American activist and socialist historian W. E. B. Du Bois, whom Plaatje met and befriended. Using historical analysis and firsthand accounts from native South Africans, Plaatje exposes the cruelty of colonialism and analyzes the significance of the 1913 Natives’ Land Act. Awaking on Friday morning, June 20, 1913, the South African Native found himself, not actually a slave, but a pariah in the land of his birth. Native Life in South Africa With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Solomon T. Plaatje’s Native Life in South Africa is a classic of South African literature reimagined for modern readers.