The Individual, Auto/biography and History in South Africa

the Unity Movement presented its case for material and political support during the
1960s. The biography of Honono was included in parcels of publications and published
addresses that Tabata forwarded to Taylor to be sent to potential supporters. 87
Taylor, in the meantime, availed herself of her proximity to the Asian and African
Studies Program of Amherst, Smith and Mount Holyoke Colleges and the University of
Massachusetts, where Gwendolyn Carter was based. Taylor began to correspond with
Carter, who had just published a book on South Africa, as an avenue of overcoming the
‘conspiracy of silence’ against the AAC and NEUM. In her book, Carter had commented
on “how difficult it was … to acquire accurate information – and literature – about all
the political movements in South Africa”. Drawing no doubt on the notes she was
preparing on the history of the movement, Taylor’s letter presented a cryptic account of
the history of the AAC and the NEUM, which Carter’s book had failed to refer to. She
was careful to explain the divergence between the AAC and ANC as “two different
paths taken by the Non‐White political movements”. Taylor ended off her letter
explaining that she had stressed the AAC and NEUM because “their role ha[d] not been
sufficiently assessed, and their leaders too often slandered and belittled”. Throughout
her letter, she referred Carter to Tabata’s writings, and foregrounded her discussion of
the movement with Tabata’s record of political leadership. In addition, Taylor also sent
Carter a copy of Tabata’s biographical note about Nathaniel Honono and a copy of
Education for Barbarism. 88
As political biography became an increasingly central element of the political
engagements of both of them, Taylor expressed her concern to Tabata that satisfying the
increasing requests for biographical sketches represented a “departure from [their]
87 I.B. Tabata to Dora Taylor, 28 February 1963, I.B. Tabata Collection, BC 925.
88 Dora Taylor to Gwendolen Carter, 16 March 1963, I.B. Tabata Collection, BC 925, also reproduced in
Carter‐Karis Microfilm Collection (2:XT1:92/1). In July 1963, Carter followed up this communication by
meeting with Tabata, Honono and Gool in Mbabane in July 1963, and further contact led to Carter
asking Tabata or his colleagues to furnish her with a “detailed chronological account” of the AAC and
NEUM’s activities, and “more … detail about the associations of these groups with other nationalist
organisations”. See ‘Tabata, Honono, and Miss Gool, near Mbabane, Swaziland’, (notes of Gwendolen
Carter’s discussion with Tabata, Honono and Gool), July 25, 1963; Gwendolen Carter to Dora Taylor,
24 December 1963, I.B. Tabata Collection, BC 925.
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