From Sharpeville to Rivonia, 1959 to 1964: A personal view of resistance in South Africa, from the Letters of Clare & James Currey

1959 was the year James Currey arrived in South Africa and found a nation in crisis. Hopes of change rose and foundered over the next five years. Letters and vivid conversations capture the excitement of daily life and political drama. An extra-parliamentary opposition had used non-violent means of protest since 1952, but on 21 March 1960 the police shot and killed 69 peaceful protesters in Sharpeville. It was a turning point. In March 1960, 35,000 Africans protested n Cape Town and the police responded with further savagery. Shortly after Randolph Vigne, Neville Rubin, Tim Holmes and James Currey founded The New African a radical review of politics and the arts. The intense comings and goings of a small magazine served as effective cover for acts of sabotage. In July 1964 Randolph Vigne appealed to Clare and James to help him escape. Clare had no hesitation; ‘Randolph and Gillian are our friends’, she said. James used his British passport, to buy a ticket on a Norwegian freighter so that Vigne could travel to Montreal. Two days later Clare and James flew out of Johannesburg. A book of publishing, politics, and protest.