AWG Champion
Born
Allison George Champion

(1893-12-04)4 December 1893
Tugela River Mouth
Other namesAWG Champion
Occupation(s)trade unionist, activist, writer
SpouseConstance Gumede

AWG Champion (4 December 1893, near the Tugela River mouth KwaZulu-Natal – 1975), was a South African trade unionist, activist, writer and public intellectual.[1][2]

Life

Champion schooled at Adams College near Durban, but was expelled for 'rebelliousness' before he could complete his school education. He then worked various jobs until he met Clement Kadalie in 1925 and joined the Industrial and Commercial Workers' Union (ICU) led by Kadalie.[1]

Political activism

Soon after joining the ICU in the Transvaal in 1925 Champion became second in command of the union and moved to Durban. In 1926 strongly supported the explosion of communists from the union. In 1927 when the union began to break apart he formed and led the ICU yase Natal, which became a powerful organisation in Durban and wider KwaZulu-Natal.[1]

In 1930 he was exiled from Natal and Zululand by the colonial government.[2]

He then became a leading figure in the African National Congress becoming the acting president-general in 1946–1947. He was a strongly conservative presence in the organisation.[1]

In 1951 he lost the contest for the presidency of the Natal section of the ANC to Albert Luthuli[3] after which he ran a store and became an influential convservative figure in Natal, with close relations to the Zulu royal family.[4]

He died in 1975.[1]

Personal life

Nxumalo was married to Constance Gumede, daughter of Josiah Tshangana Gumede.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Allison Wessels George Champion,SA History Online
  2. 1 2 AWG CHAMPION: A REBEL WITH A CAUSE, Thapelo Mokoatsi, The Journalist, 18 August 2015
  3. ↑ Changing the guard: Champion-Msimang-Luthuli. the Anc in Natal 1945-1951. Maynard Swanson (1990) Collected Seminar Papers. Institute of Commonwealth Studies,40. pp.50-56.
  4. ↑ AWG Champion and the changing fortunes of Zulu nationalism in South Africa, 1960s to 1970s, Wonga Tabata, JCH 2016 Volume 41 Issue 2
  5. ↑ AWG CHAMPION: A REBEL WITH A CAUSE, The Journalist, 18 August 2015


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.