Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Dr. Abdullah Abdurahman was the most influential and popular political leader within the Colored community of South Africa for three and a half decades before his death in February 1940 and won widespread respect within the white establishment.Abdurahman was born in Wellington, South Africa on December 12, 1872. A descendant of grandparents granted manumission from slavery, his graduation as a medical doctor from the University of Glasgow in 1893 was a signal achievement. Abdurahman entered public life in 1904, becoming the first black person elected to the Cape Town City Council, representing Wards 6 and 7 for the rest of his life. Abdurahman exerted substantial influence on local government due to his exceptional popularity among Colored voters and energetic chairing of several council committees. In 1914 Abdurahman became the first Colored person elected to the Cape Provincial Council, holding the Castle Division to 1940.Abdurahman's most important political contribution was as president of the African Political Organization (APO), to which he was elected in 1905 and completely dominated the leadership for 35 years. Under his direction the APO grew from an insignificant, faction-ridden body into an organization of several thousand members with a national network of branches by 1910, comprising the country's largest black political organization of that time. Through the APO Abdurahman ... log in or subscribe to read full text