Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge is a Quaker South African who started her life of political activism under the tutelage of Steve Biko, a leading light of the grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement.
Banned from public political activity in 1973 and frequently detained, Biko was arrested, severely beaten, and died in the custody of the South African government in September 1977.
Madlala-Routledge moved on to join the ANC and the South African Communist Party, which were both banned, and as was detained a number of times without trial. The latest period was serving a year in solitary confinement. After the first democratic elections she served as a Member of Parliament, Deputy Minister of Defense and of Health in the post-apartheid government and then as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.
Come hear stories, ask questions, share thoughts, and learn about the enduring legacy of the Black Consciousness Movement in modern day South Africa.
Co-sponsored by Quaker and Special Collections and the Quaker Affairs Office
Nozizwe also served as Chairperson and organizer of the Natal Organisation of Women, an above ground mass democratic movement affiliated to the United Democratic Front, which formed in the 80s. She is the founder and Executive Director of Embrace Dignity, a non-profit campaigning for legal reform to abolish the exploitative system of prostitution and support South African women wanting to exit the sex industry. Nozizwe is serving as Friend in Residence at Haverford College for the spring semester, 2020.