Florence Grace Mkhize (1932 – July 10, 1999) was an anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activist and women's movement leader. Mkhize was usually called 'Mam Flo'. Mkhize was also involved in

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

s in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, organizing for the

South African Congress of Trade Unions The South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) was a national trade union federation in South Africa. History The federation was established in March 1955, after right wing unions dissolved the South African Trades and Labour Council in 1954 to ...

(SACTU).

Biography

Mkhize was born in 1932 in

Umzumbe Umzumbe is a seaside resort situated at the mouth of the Mzumbe River ''(bad kraal)'' in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The name of the river is derived from a band of Hlongwa cannibals who occupied the valley. The Hlongwa was almost wiped out by ...

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

. She started to become aware about politics at age 16 while attending a

Roman Catholic school Catholic schools are pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered under the aegis or in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school syst ...

on the

. Mkhize began fighting apartheid and took part in the

Defiance Campaign The Defiance Campaign against Unjust Laws was presented by the African National Congress (ANC) at a conference held in Bloemfontein, South Africa in December 1951. The Campaign had roots in events leading up the conference. The demonstrations, ...

in 1952. A photo of her burning her passbook was taken by Ranjith Kally and is now exhibited as both art and a record of that struggle. She was subsequently banned. Despite the ban on her political activity, she used her place of work, a sewing factory which placed on Lakhani Chamber, Durban, to communicate and organise. During formulation of

Freedom Charter The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats ...

, her bus which on the way to

Kliptown Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which form ...

for Congress of People was turned back by the police and sent back to Natal. In 1954, Mkhize with

Lilian Ngoyi Lilian Masediba Matabane Ngoyi, "Mma Ngoyi", (25 September 1911 – 13 March 1980) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was the first woman elected to the executive committee of the African National Congress, and helped launch ...

Helen Joseph Helen Beatrice Joseph (''née'' Fennell) (8 April 1905 – 25 December 1992) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Born in Sussex, England, Helen graduated with a degree in English from the University of London in 1927 and then departed ...

Fatima Meer Fatima Meer (12 August 1928 – 12 March 2010) was a South African writer, academic, screenwriter, and prominent anti-apartheid activist. Early life Fatima Meer was born in the Grey Streets of Durban, South Africa, into a middle-class family ...

and other women became the founding members of the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afric ...

. Mkhize organized women to participate in the

Women's March Women's March may refer to: * Women's March on Versailles, a 1789 march in Paris * Women's Sunday, a 1908 suffragette march in London * Woman Suffrage Procession, a 1913 march and rally in Washington, D.C. * Women's March (South Africa), a 1956 mar ...

in 1956, but was not able to go herself when the bus she was traveling on to reach

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

was turned back by police. She was one of thel leader from the Potato and Tobacco boycotts against industries which was colluding with apartheid in 1959. After

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) was banned in 1960, as a member of

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

(SACP), she continue the struggle by joining

(SACTU) until the organization suppressed by the government. In June 1968, she was banned again for five years under the

Suppression of Communism Act The Suppression of Communism Act, 1950 (Act No. 44 of 1950), renamed the Internal Security Act in 1976, was legislation of the national government in apartheid South Africa which formally banned the Communist Party of South Africa and proscribed ...

. In the 1970s, Mkhize was involved with the Release Mandela Campaign and used her home to hide others from security forces. During the 1980s, she was pursuing to solve education and housing crisis in

Lamontville Lamontville is a town in EThekwini in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. Township south of Durban, on the Umlaas River and next to Mobeni. It was laid out in 1930 and named after the Revd Archibald Lamont Archibald Lamont (21 Octo ...

. Mkhize helped raise money to help educate students who were refused education in public school because of their parents' political involvement by going to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Phambili High School was founded after this trip. She was also one of the founding members of United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983 and in the same year, she was mobilizing women from other racial groups with Natal Organization of Women. In the 1994 elections, she became a councillor for ward 75, which she held until 7 July 1999. She founded Zikhulise Cleaning, Maintenance and Transport company when she was a councillor in eThekwini on 1997.

Personal life

She married her husband, Amos Mos Mtuno, in the 1950s and lived in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. They had four children: Her boys named Mandla and Thulani Khosi and her daughter Shauwn Mkhize.

Death and legacy

She died of congestive heart (cardiac) failure on 10 July 1999. In 1998 the

(ANC) Women's League awarded her their bravery medal. In 1999

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

awarded her the South African Military Gold Medal.

's city centre municipal offices were renamed in her honor. In 2006 the South African Ministry of the Environment commissioned an environmental protection vessel, the ''Florence Mkhize''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mkhize, Florence 1932 births 1999 deaths Anti-apartheid activists South African trade unionists

Biography

Personal life

Death and legacy

See also

References