​When We Are Bold

Zubeida Jaffer is an award-winning South African author and journalist and who was active in the anti-apartheid and trade union movements, and has been at the forefront of action to ensure more diverse voices are included in South African journalism. Her most recent book, Beauty of the Heart, details the life and work of Charlotte Mannya Maxeke.

Read Charlotte Mannya Maxeke: Mother Of Black Freedom 
by Zubeida Jaffer in When We Are Bold: Women Who Turn Our Upsidedown World Right

Charlotte Mannya Maxeke became her country’s first black female university graduate in 1901, and eventually was known as the “Mother of Black Freedom” in South Africa. A talented singer, Charlotte performed throughout Britain and North America with a choir group, and completed her Bachelor in Science at Wilberforce University in Ohio. On her return to South Africa, she became a social activist, fighting for the rights of women and black South Africans, particularly the right to education.