APRIL 6 “THIS WEEK IN THE MUSIC OF NONVIOLENT RESISTANCE”

On April 8, 1920, Vuyisile Mini, a renowned anti-apartheid activist, was born in South Africa. Mini would become famous as a writer and performer of protest songs.

Mini composed one of the most famous protest songs of the struggle, called “Watch Out, Verwoerd.” The song is a testament to the power of the anti-apartheid struggle and a warning to the white apartheid leaders of South Africa that the black man would never give up in the quest for freedom. (Listen to the song as performed by Miriam Makeba, a Grammy-award winning singer.)

While in 1961 Mini joined the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC), uMkhonto we Sizwe, he was better known for the nonviolent strikes he led earlier in life. He was a founding member of the Port Elizabeth Stevedoring and Dockworkers Union. In the 1950s, the Union undertook one of the longest protests for wage increases.

In 1964, Mini was sentenced to death on charges of sabotage.

On the day of his execution, as recounted by a fellow inmate, Ben Turok, “The voice of Vuyisile Mini came roaring down the hushed passages…. his unmistakable bass voice was enunciating his final message in Xhosa to the world he was leaving. In a voice charged with emotion but stubbornly defiant he spoke of the struggle waged by the African National Congress and of his absolute conviction of the victory to come.”

Read more about Mini in an article entitled “The Sounds of Resistance” and listen to a promo for a play about Mini and fellow activists called “They Died Singing.”