Ruth First Part 1

April 29, 2019  /  Niall Cooper

Episode 3.6: Ruth First Part 1

In Part 1 of our two-part episode on the life and death of South African journalist Ruth First, we find out about her early involvement in the struggle against racial inequality. Working for various newspapers, Ruth exposed some of the horrific living and working condition endured by black South Africans in the 1940s and 50s. With her husband, Joe Slovo, she became a leading member of the Communist Party and an ally of Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress. With the passage of the apartheid laws in 1948 and then the Suppression of Communist Act in 1950, the National Party government cracked down on all opposition to white minority rule, making life increasingly difficult for Ruth, Joe, and the entire anti-apartheid movement.

A transcript of this episode is available here.

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