Days of Commitment Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #87)

Abdurahman's attempt to create one body te serve as the mouthpiece of all the oppressed people. Three years later the CP made a similar attempt when it established the National Pass Council and in 1938 Dr. Dadoo formed the Non European Front. Lastly in 1943 the ANC and the All African Convention, an affiliate of the NEUM considered ways and means of setting up a central political body to put forward the demands of the African people. The success of the ICU in this and other fields was short lived and, other attempts did not receive the support of the various sections of the movement. There were many reasons for this poor response, amongst which was the clash of personalities and the related fact that the other organisations did not want to be superseded by other bodies. In addition was the fundamental fact that in the light of the economic and social conditions at the time the whole idea of racial unity was premature. Such unity is essentially the product of economic forces and is related to the social conditions. In a South Africa where Africans, Coloureds and Indians lived in separate areas, had separate sports facilities, separate schools and separate cultural organisations and where there were marked differences in income and political privileges, it was not easy to convince the people of their common interests. Even the most advanced section of the movement, the industrial workers, had to be organised into racial trade unions. The social conditions were basically the same during the Second World War, but the rapid industrial expansion led to the emergence of large factories with workers drawn from different groups and with grievances and demands that were increasingly becoming communal. It was also a