Education for Liberation

Writing our own history

During the struggle against apartheid a number of working class communities decided to write their own history in order to validate themselves working class communities. Communities wrote their own in order to correct the distortions that were made by the apartheid regime and its historians. The role played by important a section of the working class such as women is often forgotten when history is written. “Writing Your Own History” project seeks to ensure that working class communities and women in particular are provided with a space and platform for articulating and writing their own community history.

The programme together with working class communities conducts workshops and other educational events on history research methodology. These events include training on defining a research problem, formulating research questions, data collection, data analysis, and writing and presenting a research report.

One of the methods that are employed in the project includes the use of oral testimonies. A lot of people in the communities have important stories to tell. A delicate use of the oral history method can reveal a lot of information to those who are working on “writing your own history” project.

We have also discovered that people in the communities are another important archival source of information because they keep documents such as old employment records, passes and so on. We have developed an approach which ensures that such documents are stored and stored properly. Part of our long-term work includes the building of people’s archives.

We have also discovered that people in the communities are another important archival source of information because they keep documents such as old employment records, passes and so on. We have developed an approach which ensures that such documents are stored and stored properly. Part of our long-term work includes the building of people’s archives.

In this section we present the work conducted by the Bophelong History Group, a group of young people interested in uncovering a history of their area, Bophelong in the Vaal industrial region of South Africa. There is also a book which was written by another community in the Vaal area called Evaton West.

Publications

Write Your Own History

Bophelong Newsletter Issue 1

Bophelong Newsletter Issue 2