Days of Commitment Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #80)

were declared to fbe the main goal. It condemned all kinds of racialism and accepted as full citizens, regardless of colour or creed, all those who had made South Afrci their home and who renounced white supremacy. The basic policy of the League contained nothing new as a study of the first constitution of the ANC would show. But in the League we had at least a group of enthusiastic disciples who consistently made African nationalism the battle cry on practically every occasion and who seriously attempted to give it concrete expression. The League had a collective leadership and it made progress as a result of the joint efforts of all its members. Within that context its head, Anton Lembede, attracted a lot of attention throughout the country and from all national groups. He was a highly qualified man, having made this achievement through private studies, and was one of the four African lawyers in the country in those days. His marathon addresses were always full of learning and he stressed repeatedly that, wherever the African had been given the opportunity, he was capable of developing to the same extent as the white man. Men like Marcus Garvey, Du Bois, Haile Selassie, as well as feats of our forefathers in the wars of dispossession, frequently formed the theme of his speeches. We took it for granted that one day he would head the ANC. One day he and I were chatting together when he complained of a sudden pain in the stomach and of feeling cold. As the pain rapidly worsened he was driven to Coronation Hospital where he died the next day. Peter Mda, then the leading theoretician of the League, was the obvious successor to Anton Lembede. His cautious and analytical approach, ability to express himself in simple terms and his