Alan Paton Centre & Struggles Archive
Alan Paton Centre & Struggles Archive
http://paton.ukzn.ac.za/InformationAboutUs/TheAlanPatonCentreStruggleArchives.aspx
The Alan Paton Centre & Struggles Archive is dedicated to housing material related to Alan Paton. Alan Paton, an author and later politician, was a founding member of the Liberal Democratic party of South Africa (LPSA). Throughout his political career he was both a chairman and a president of the LPSA. The LPSA, a political party mainly composed of white individuals who opposed apartheid, chose to break apart in 1968 rather than becoming a white-only organization, after the National Police Interference Act. This act made it illegal for individuals to associate themselves with non-racialized organizations. Noting both Alan Paton’s literary achievements as well as his political career, the Alan Paton Centre & Struggles Archive aims to collect material related both to his work as well as material depicting “aspects of resistance to apartheid,” specifically those related to violence and injustice. This Archive houses 13 core archives: which include: Paton’s Works, Cry the Beloved, LPSA, Political Activists, Violence in KwaZulu-Natal, The Black Slash, Blackspots and Forced Removals, Oral History Project, Natal Society Special Collections, Peace and Reconciliation, Nomkhubulwane, CINDI, and a Photograph Collection. The Alan Paton collection has been curated by its librarians, scholars, and student researchers, in order to promote awareness both to Alan Paton’s trajectory, but also to the violence that was inflicted upon apartheid activists. However, the archive materials originate from individuals who were in the antiaparthied movement, specifically within the KwaZulu-Natal mid-land regions. Most material for this reason is concentrated within the years of apartheid 1947 to South Africa’s first democratic election in 1994. The material is housed in a physical archive that is very close to the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The archive is open to researchers, students, and scholars free of charge, and special collections can be booked by calling the center. They offer a reading room, research assistance, and they are open during weekdays both for appointment-based research and for general use.
Material in this collection is both physical and digital. Most documents within this archive can only be found physically at the archive location in South Africa, however there are some pieces to be found on DISA. These pieces are mostly correspondence and general articles regarding the political demands of the LPSA. DISA has an extensive general collection of Alan Paton, therefore the digital archive can be used a starting point for researchers and students. Navigating the material within the physical archive would be the easiest if the student makes an appointment with the archivist, especially if they want to look at core collections that are not housed at DISA. If the student plans to use the digital collection in DISA, it is best that they visit the archives official website first, as they have background information on Alan Paton, his work, and background on the what kind of material they house. thus , if the student is not familiar with Alan Paton or the politics of South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggles, then it is best that they visit the official website to inform themselves first. The website for the center also has a collection guide, in which students can download PDFs of the organization of the material prior to going there, this is especially convenient if the student knows exactly what kind of material they are looking for. Lastly, if the student wants to further their research the website has a tab for both links and publications related to the archive, thus, if the student can only access the DISA digital archive they can use these links to concentrate their research on areas covered in this archive.
This archive can be used to investigate the motivation behind organizations like the LPSA, who were predominantly white organizations devoted to anti-apartheid support, and their role in the early stages of the movement. Noting that the archive houses many letters to and from Alan Paton, a student or researcher can investigate whether those motivation were personal or more external. Using Alan Paton’s letters, would allow us to understand the decision making by which political decisions were made within the party, and to understand how some laws carried for unprecedented repercussions, such as the one that made the LPSA illegal. Using Alan Paton’s background as an author, researchers can also aim to investigate why politics eventually became more important to Paton, and how this came to effect his writing both in his political work and in his work after the break up of the LPSA. Is the style of writing in his political work more appealing to the general public, and if so, how did this help him spread his political messages. In addition, the center’s website, described Alan Paton as a liberalist who disliked communism, understanding that communism was under attack especially during South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggles, how was this political stance used to his advantage and how did this help others in the LPSA advance the organization/party’s goals?
The archive can be accessed both by:
http://paton.ukzn.ac.za/Homepage.aspx & http://disa.ukzn.ac.za/collection/alan-paton-centre-and-struggle-archives
Physical access is Monday-Friday, 8am-1pm without appointment, and 2:00-4:30 pm with appointment.
The Alan Paton Centre & Struggle Archives: University of KwaZulu-Natal Private Bag X01 Scottsville 3209
The available components of the archives, that is, the collection that is accessible through DISA focuses on Alan Paton’s Political career. Alan Paton’s correspondence as well as his political articles are housed here. The two documents that will be investigated are the document: “Government’s Disregard of the Pledged Word” 1948 and “South Africa’s Controversy with the United Nations”1948. “Government’s Disregard of the Pledged Word” criticized the paradox in which the government thought the the South African constitution was perfectly flexible to protect apartheid but it was not flexible enough to protect black South Africans instead. Alan Paton’s political literacy, offers not only a social and moral critique of the injustice by which apartheid was enacted, but also the political circumstances that allowed apartheid to be considered in accordance to the constitution, a constitution that according to Paton was beginning to signal of “complete disintegration and decay” of South Africa’s socio-political livelihood (Paton 1948, 4). His political considerations, also allow students to consider previous reading, especially those of Mamdani, and the settler and native dichotomy. This is because he references how apartheid can be comparable to South Africa’s previous attempts in 1910 to officiate a law by which natives would not be considered citizens as they would be unable to register on the common roll. He asserts that although there is no direct threat of revoking citizenship, apartheid signals the reinstitution of the settler and native dichotomies as well as indirect rule, not by colonizing nations but in this case by the white minority in South Africa. For this reason, the title of the piece is very fitting, as it illustrates the government’s inability to keep their promise to rid themselves of indirect rule mentaitlies.
The settler and native dichotomy that Mamdani introduces, allows us to understand the gravity of the situation that Paton is describing. Using racialized of ethnic difference as a political tool does in fact signal the disintegration and decay of a nation, especially one that is multiethnic and multiracial. Paton also points out that what has become an intensified problem is the increasing fluctuations by which the law protects Black South Africans. This, he points out, will end up creating perpetual discontent among the citizens of South Africa, and will bring about more push back from anti-apartheid communities who have seen the consequences of race and ethnicity being used as a political tool. Paton ends by warning the South African government of the perceptions other nations will have of it in the future, and how it should change now so as not to embarass themselves later. Paton’s second piece “South Africa’s controversy with the United Nations” 1948, continues Paton’s critique of both national and international efforts to reduce Black South Africans to secondary citizens. He points out the evident racial bias that is held in the UN, which provides yet another manifestation of Mamdani’s settler native dichotomy, in which race and ethnicity are manipulated and in which an outside entity is responsible for maintaining and encouraging this difference. Once again, Paton’s political understandings deepen the sensitivity of the issue, especially since it is written in 1948, the wake of apartheid South Africa. This is because it is obvious that the government has no sympathy for moral basis of retracting apartheid, and as a result Paton’s political approach is seen as the only alternative to showcase how the South African government is cultivating a domestic and institutionalized form of indirect rule-like policies.
Both pieces offer a glimpse into the kind of material that is housed at the Alan Paton archive, as the pieces chosen cover Paton’s interest in domestic and international politics, as well as an overarching theme of injustice and crime, especially within the government. Thus, a researcher that has physical access of other collections within the archive can explore criminality and policing during and before anti-apartheid struggles. Paton, with both pieces is able to foreshadow the difficulties of criminality and policing by exposing the early creation of a double standard within the law in regards to white minority and black majority citizens. In doing this, he asserts that the problem with criminality and policing is in essence a manifestation of the settler and native dichotomy, wherein the government still promotes racial bias when enacting laws and pursing punishment for those who break them. In addition, it foreshadows the perpetual existence of paternalism, wherein the line between il/legality is blurred and is institutionalized.
