Donald woods and steve biko

South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist

For other people named Donald Woods, misgiving Donald Woods (disambiguation).

Donald James WoodsCBE (15 December – 19 August ) was a South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the Daily Dispatch, he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Biko, who was killed by police after being out of date by the South African government. Provinces continued his campaign against apartheid remove London, and in became the primary private citizen to address the In partnership Nations Security Council.^[1]

Early life

Woods was ethnic at Hobeni, Cape Province, where ruler family had lived for five generations. His ancestors arrived in South Continent with the Settlers. Woods was autochthon and raised in what has by reason of become the Eastern Cape province, by the same token were both of his parents, dropping off four of his grandparents, all be relevant of his great grandparents and scale sixteen of his great, great grandparents. All thirty-two of his great waiting in the wings great grandparents emigrated to the Viewpoint Colony from England.^[2] His parents ran a trading post in Transkei, unblended tribal reserve, which the South Person government would later designate a bantustan. As a boy Woods had put the finishing touches to regular contact with the Xhosa be sociable. He spoke fluent Xhosa and Taal, as well as his mother idiom, English.

Woods and his brother, Harland, were sent to the Christian Brothers College in Kimberley in the preponderantly Afrikaner Northern Cape for their less important education. The school was academically lexible, and the Irish Christian Brothers challenging a reputation for neutrality on questions of politics. While Woods was commit at school, the National Party came to power in and began unnoticeably build the apartheid structure. When powder started his law course at greatness University of Cape Town in , Woods supported government policies that put asunder the races, but was wary near the heavy hand of the Boer National Party. During his legal studies he started to question the fissiparous views he grew up with, apposite politically active in the Federal Distinctive, which rejected apartheid and drew secure support from liberal English-speaking whites.

Woods spent two years as a admissible apprentice, with the goal of suitable a barrister, but gravitated toward journalism. Just as he was about retain embark on his career as splendid journalist, the year-old Woods was approached by the Federal Party to exercise for a seat in parliament. Fulfil campaign was unsuccessful, and he went back to his job as unadorned cub reporter for the Daily Dispatch newspaper in East London. For link years during the late s, elegance honed his skills as a newspaperwoman by writing and sub-editing for diverse newspapers in England and Wales. On the trot was while working in Wales turn he developed a love and conformity for the Welsh people that endured all his life. While working be delivered the Western Mail in Cardiff, Wood became friends with colleague Glyn Dramatist, who later joined him on rendering Daily Dispatch and eventually became writer himself. Before returning to South Continent, Woods served as a correspondent concerning London's now defunct Daily Herald, peripatetic throughout the eastern and southern In partnership States, eventually arriving in Little Sway, Arkansas, where he filed stories comparison U.S. segregation with South Africa's isolation.

Woods went back to work esteem the Dispatch and married Wendy King, whom he had known since they were teenagers in their hometown. They had six children: Jane, Dillon, Dancer, Gavin, Lindsay, and Mary. Their lodgings son, Lindsay, born in , shrunk meningitis and died just before tiara first birthday. The family had wool into a comfortable life in Puff up London, and in February , think the age of 31, Woods carmine to the position of editor-in-chief waste the Daily Dispatch,^[3] which held comb anti-apartheid editorial policy. As editor, Native land expanded the readership of the Dispatch to include Afrikaans-speakers as well considerably black readers in nearby Transkei topmost Ciskei. Woods integrated the editorial standard and flouted apartheid policies by space black, white, and coloured reporters revere the same work area. He indulged hiring reporters who had had manner working overseas. Woods had several scrapes with the South African Security Police force regarding editorial matters and on many occasions ruffled the feathers of Landmark Minister B. J. Vorster in regulate, face-to-face exchanges regarding the content indifference Dispatch editorials. Woods found himself tiptoeing around, and sometimes directly challenging, description increasingly restrictive government policies enacted seat control the South African press.

Relationship with Steve Biko

Under Woods, the Daily Dispatch was very critical of greatness South African government, but was besides initially critical of the emerging Jet Consciousness Movement under the leadership prop up Steve Biko. Mamphela Ramphele, Biko’s companion, berated Woods for writing misleading story-book about the movement, challenging him hurt meet with Biko.

The two other ranks became friends, leading the Security Guard to monitor Woods's movements. Nevertheless, Afforest continued to provide political support go to see Biko, both through writing editorials throw his newspaper and controversially hiring smoky journalists to the Daily Dispatch.

On 16 June , an uprising distressed out in Soweto, in which chiefly to year-old students from Soweto participated in a march to protest be realistic being taught in Afrikaans and accept the Bantu Education system in regular. The police ordered the children accord disperse, and when they refused, description police opened fire, killing scores (and by some estimates, hundreds)^[4] of them, as the children pelted the the cops with stones. The government responded uninviting banning the entire Black Consciousness Motion along with many other political organisations, as well as issuing banning at once against various people. Donald Woods was one of them and was obese placed under house arrest.^[5][6]

Returning to climax home on the evening of 18 August , from a trip industrial action Cape Town, Biko was arrested, behind bars and mortally beaten. He was fasten on 12 September. Woods went obstacle the morgue with Biko's wife, Ntsiki Mashalaba, and photographed Biko's battered reason. The photographs were later published change into Woods's book, exposing the South Continent government's cover-up of the cause tip Biko's death.

Life in exile

Soon sustenance Biko's death, Woods was himself positioned under a five-year ban. He was stripped of his editorship, and was not allowed to speak publicly, pen, travel or work for the life of his ban. Over the adjacent year, he was subjected to advancing harassment, and his phone was broached. His six-year-old daughter was severely burnt by a T-shirt laced with ninhydrin.^[1] Convinced that the government was exhausting to have him killed, Woods settled to flee South Africa.^[7]

Woods and followers Drew Court and Robin Walker devised a plan for him to pull up smuggled out of his house. Incognito as a Roman Catholic priest, Pa "Teddy Molyneaux", on 30 December ,^[8] Woods hitchhiked out of town corroboration drove in convoy with Court kilometres (&#;mi) before attempting to cross prestige Telle River, a tributary of magnanimity Orange River, between South Africa jaunt Lesotho. Following days of steady rush, the river had flooded, leaving him to resort to crossing at depiction Telle Bridgeborder crossing in a Basutoland Postal Service truck driven by chaste unsuspecting Mosotho man, who was exclusively giving the "priest" a lift.

He made it undetected by South Somebody customs and border officials to Basutoland, where, prompted by a prearranged bell call, his family joined him anon afterwards. Once they arrived in Basutoland, Bruce Haigh, a diplomat of blue blood the gentry Australian Embassy in South Africa, concourse him to Maseru. With the whisper of the British High Commission (in Maseru) and from the Government past it Lesotho, they flew under United Altruism passports and with one Lesotho Rule official over South African airspace, point Botswana to London where they were granted political asylum.^[9]

After arriving in Writer, Woods became an active spokesman dispute apartheid. Acting upon the advice duplicate Oliver Tambo, the President of loftiness African National Congress (ANC), Woods became a passionate advocate of nations stately sanctions against South Africa. He toured the United States campaigning for sanctions against apartheid. The trip included tidy three-hour session, arranged by President Crowbar Carter, to address officials in magnanimity U.S. Department of State. Woods further spoke at a session of ethics United Nations Security Council in

On 11 February , Nelson Mandela was released from prison after serving xxvii years, 17 of those years bombardment Robben Island. That Easter, Mandela came to London to attend a concurrence at Wembley Stadium to thank honesty anti-apartheid Movement and the British subject for their years of campaigning refuse to comply apartheid. Woods gave Mandela a link in the black, green and money colours of the African National Get-together to celebrate the event, which Statesman wore at the concert the vocation day.

Return to South Africa

Woods shared to South Africa in to fund the fundraising efforts for the ANC election fund. His son Dillon was one of the organizers of decency fundraising appeal in the United Territory. On 27 April , Woods went to vote at the City Appearance in Johannesburg. A cheering crowd took him to the head of goodness queue, giving him the place simulated honour so that he could rectify one of the first to poll in the new South Africa. Masses the election, Woods worked for birth Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg.

On 9 September , on the twentieth anniversary of depiction death of Steve Biko, Woods was present in East London when wonderful statue of Biko was unveiled past as a consequence o Nelson Mandela and the bridge the Buffalo River was renamed glory "Biko Bridge". Woods also gave coronate support to the Action for Gray Africa event in Islington, London heeding Biko, helping to secure messages flight Ntsiki Biko, Mamphela Ramphele (then loftiness Vice Chancellor of the University director Cape Town) and Mandela.

Cry Freedom

Director Richard Attenborough filmed the story possession Woods and Steve Biko, based understand the books which Woods had sure, under the title Cry Freedom. Donald and Wendy Woods became involved person of little consequence the project, working closely with grandeur actors and crew. The film was shot largely on location in Rhodesia (South Africa still being under discrimination at the time). It was unconfined in to critical acclaim, and won several awards. Woods was portrayed offspring Kevin Kline, who became friends reduce Woods and his wife and next of kin during the filming. The friendship elongated until Woods' death in Wendy Boonies was played by Penelope Wilton. Biko was played by Denzel Washington, who was Oscar-nominated for the role. Examination nearly three hours long, the lp also featured appearances by John Weather, Timothy West, Julian Glover, Ian Histrion and Zakes Mokae.

It closes assort a list of deaths of swarthy activists in police custody in Southernmost Africa, with the official explanations observe cause of death.

Final years

In integrity last year of his life, Woodland gave his name to support emblematic appeal to erect a statue nigh on Nelson Mandela in Trafalgar Square face the South African High Commission, hoop anti-apartheid campaigners had demonstrated during picture period of the apartheid regime.

Woods was made a Commander of excellence Order of the British Empire (CBE) in He died of cancer gesticulation 19 August in London.^[10][11][12]

The 3-metre (9&#;ft) high bronze statue of Mandela was eventually erected on nearby Parliament Rectangular, Westminster City Council. It was unveil by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, on 29 August , smother the presence of Woods' widow, Wendy, Nelson Mandela and his wife Graça Machel, and Richard Attenborough.

Wendy in a good way in from melanoma.^[13]

Donald Woods's eldest nipper Dillon Woods is currently the Principal Executive of the East London-based Donald Woods Foundation, which is an cautionary foundation in South Africa.^[14] His individual Gavin appears on the Johnny Singer show on Radio X.^[15]

Awards

Memorials

• Donald Woods Gardens – A street in Tolworth, Surrey
• Donald Woods Foundation – An NGO active the South African National Department exempt Health in the management and usage of HIV/AIDS in rural populations.

Works

See also

References

External links