The Land Is Ours: Black Lawyers and the Birth of Constitutionalism in South Africa

"I don’t want to call them biographies because they are too short. Let’s call them ‘personalised histories.’ He writes the personalised histories of the first Black lawyers, who he claims were founders of constitutionalism and the universal Bill of Rights in South Africa. He showcases how they were affected by their naivety of thinking this would deliver universal justice, political and otherwise during the British colonial era of our history. They were trained overseas in the West, and they came back with the notion that they were going to change things because of their misconception, despite everything, that the British Empire had respect for the law. They had a rude awakening. They came to understand that not only did the British not respect the law when it came to people of colour, they manipulated it. They only respected it when it supported their purposes. So they were always kicking the can down the road. It’s so painful when you read about their personal histories because most of them died in shame. Out of the six of them, five died as alcoholics because they couldn’t even make money as lawyers. There was just no space for them as Black people in the system. The system just couldn’t accommodate them. As a result, one of them, Henry Sylvester Williams, who was Caribbean, chose to go back to England rather than stay in South Africa because he could see that there was no way he could practise law and pursue justice. In the end, all of them came to the realisation that practising law where there’s no justice is pointless. This fight has to be political rather than legal. This is why they became foundational members of what became known as the ANC, the African National Congress, the current rulers of South Africa. Yes, for me, historically, it is relevant. I suppose it is also relevant, even today, because Tembeka Ngcukaitobi is, I think, the youngest senior counsel in the land. His success has been prominent, but he himself is an exception to the rule. For most of these professions, the culture is still not accommodative to the Black people. But I think most people will argue that things are much, much better than they were in the late 19th and early 20th century. I hear the book is being turned into a TV series. It’s going to be interesting to watch that."