In Johannesburg Long Walk Original Manuscript (Image #61)

Hare and the reunion with members of my own family was a great occasion for me. I was also happy to be back at College to see old friends and to listen to their varied experiences. After the ceremony I spent a few days relaxing at Daliwonga's home at Qamata before returning to Johannesburg. He took advantage of our meeting to press the point that I should have leave the Transvaal immediately after qualifying and come to practice in the Transkei, a view which was strongly urged by the new Regent when he visited me at Orlando in 1947. Although I did not reject their arguments, I kept pointing out that the question was premature and that we could review it as soon as I had qualified. In the meantime I continued with my law studies at Witswatersrand but did not do well enough to complete the degree. Later I abandoned the L.L.B. degree and obtained an Attorneys' Diploma which qualified me to practice as an attorney. I was formally admitted in March 1952 and the same year I went into partnership with Oliver Tambo. Studying at Witswatersrand brought me into close contact with white students and a handful of Indian students. Here there was a segment of liberal opinion that was vocal on the question of providing equal opportunities for the black man. At Fort Hare we had some sort of contact with the equally liberal white students from Rhodes University College in Grahamstown, but such contacts were few and far between. They took the form of visits by selected students from one college to the other for the purpose mainly of debating some subject or other. But at Witswatersrand we attended the same lectures, used the same libraries, cafetaria, toilets, attended the same campus meetings and talked on a variety of issues.It did not take me long to realise that not all whites supported the policy