J. CONGRESS MBATA
(1919-1989)
BIOGRAPHY
Early Childhood
In 1919, J. Congress Mbata was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, the son of the late John and Martha Mbata. Then, the country was gripped by a turbulent storm arising from the desire of African people to liberate themselves from the oppressive forces of racist white South Africans. In 1919, the word "Congress" signified resistance to oppression. Congress was supposed to be the organization, or the concept, that would carry Africans to their national freedom. It was an expression of confidence in themselves and their future, and in 1919, the Mbata's named their new son, Congress, as a symbol of protest and hope for a brighter future.
Educational Career
Congress grew up like any other African child in South Africa. Then, education was neither free nor compulsory for Africans, however, Congress single-mindedly pursued the purpose of intellectually equipping himself for the future. He went through the mills of the Bantu United Schools system. He then entered St. Peter's Secondary School in Johannesburg. He proceeded to the South African Native College at Fort Hare, and Congress also studied at the University of the Witwatersrand. In 1940 he joined the faculty at St. Peter's Secondary School. At the same time he was elected the Secretary of the TATA (Transvaal African Teachers Association) which became the spear and shield of Africans in their struggle for education. The TATA was a particularly well remembered group. This was the group, which under the leadership of Mothopeng, led the opposition to the infamous Bantu Education System. In the 1940's, Congress served as Chairman of the African Study Circle, a select group which met regularly to study the political, economic, judicial, cultural, and even spiritual problems facing Africans. From this group emerged a number of people who later on became national leaders in the struggle against apartheid.
In the Struggle
In 1943 Congress Mbata was invited by Dr. Alfred Beteni Xuma to serve on the African Claims in South Africa Committee. This Committee brought together some of the best minds among the African people. Dr. J. Moroka was there from the AAC (All-African Convention). Professor Ngcovo was here from Loram Secondary School. Also present were Moses Kotane, Thabo Mofutsanyana, and Dan Tloome of the Communist Party. From Dr. Xuma's vantage point, Congress Mphetizelli Mbata was also worthy of the honor to serve on the Committee. It was believed then, in 1943, that Congress was a highly committed nationalist and a gifted thinker. In 1944 Congress Mbata became a founding member of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). Later, Congress was chosen Acting Secretary for the ANCYL, when Anton Muziwakhe Lembede assumed the Presidency..
Shortly thereafter, Congress became a Headmaster at Lekoa-Shandu African High School in Vereeniging. Following this assignment, he became an Officer-Researcher at the SAIRR (South African Institute of Race Relations), and independent Research Center whose findings have rarely, if ever, been challenged by both the proponents and opponents of apartheid.
Sharpeville and After
In 1960, after the Sharpeville Massacre and the State's ban against the ANC, Mbata became deeply involved in the 1960 African Leadership Conference, which represented still another effort at building a united African front.
By the middle of the 1960's, Mbata was a continuous target of the fascist South African Security Police. Luckily, he obtained the status of refugee in the United States. From then on, he and the members of his family would never be allowed to again set foot in South Africa, their homeland.
In the United States, Congress began (1968-69) as a professor and researcher with the African Studies Program at Northwestern University. At the same time, he also was the Head of African Studies in the Department of Political Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology. While at Northwestern, Congress became friends with James Turner. Later, when James Turner became the first Director of the newly created Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, Congress accepted the invitation to become one of its founding faculty members. He was appointed Associate Professor of African Studies, a position he held from 1969 until his death on January 14, 1989. Besides offering seminars that were very popular with undergraduates and which compared various aspects of race relations in North America and South Africa, Congress will be remembered as the person who helped fashion the graduate program in Africana Studies. Along with Dr. Turner and the faculty at the Center, Congress designed the current M.P.S. Degree Program, he negotiated its acceptance by state authorities, and he served as the first Graduate Field Representative for Africana, a position he held for over ten years. Professor Mbata's passing was especially painful and significant to Professor Turner, for Congress was the last of the original group of scholars whom Dr. Turner recruited as part of the founding of the Africana Center in 1969 (others have since moved on to successful careers in government and education).
He will be remembered very fondly as a capable, competent, and fully informed Africanist scholar. In 1975-76 he was elected President of the New York African Studies Association (NYASA), and in 1988, the NYASA presented him with an award in "recognition of meritorious services rendered...to scholarship and African excellence..." Among his numerous commentaries and writings were: "Race and Resistance in South Africa" in J. Paden and E. Soja (eds.), The African Experience, (1970) and "Profile of Change: The Culmulative Significance of Changes Among Africans" in L. Thompson and J. Butler (eds.), Change in Contemporary South Africa, (1975).
By Peter Hlaole 'Molotsi, James Turner, and William Cross, Jr., 1989
