Jean Bernadt (née Alkin) (19 May 1914 – 9 April 2011) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was an active member of the

Communist Party of South Africa 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 ...

(CPSA), the Congress of Democrats, 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 ...

and the

Black Sash The Black Sash is a South African human rights organisation. It was founded in Johannesburg in 1955 as a non-violent resistance organisation for liberal white women. Origins The Black Sash was founded on 19 May 1955 by six middle-class white ...

among other institutions. In 1940 she married Himan (Himie) Bernadt and she had three children.

Education

1934 High School

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

1936

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

– studied

American Literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also inc ...

Activities

She was involved in a wide range of charity organisations, usually together with other women from the Black Sash and the Communist Party. She was a member of the Athlone Committee for Nursery Education. The Athlone Committee founded the first nursery school for Coloured children in Athlone in 1949 and also founded the

Maynardville Open-Air Theatre The Maynardville Open-Air Theater is an outdoor theatre in Maynardville Park, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa. It seats 720 people and is known for its annual Shakespeare in the Park plays. History Park grounds Before it was named Maynard ...

on 1 December 1950 as a charity fund-raiser for underprivileged areas. Her and Margaret Molteno (chair and founder of the Athlone Committee) joined up with the Blouvlei community leader

Dora Tamana Dora Ntloko Tamana (11 November 1901 – 23 July 1983) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Early life Dora Ntloko was born at Nqamakwe, in Hlobo, Transkei, near Dutywa, then part of Cape Colony. Her grandfather was a Methodist preacher, ...

in 1954 to work on community projects in the Blouvlei informal settlement. As far back as 1948, Tamana had started a community creche at a private house, but it had stopped after two and half years because of a lack of funding. The three women raised funds and established the Blouvlei Nursery School and family health centre according to Tamana's plans in May 1955. She was under government banning orders from 1959 to 1964. Later she housed

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 ...

during his negotiations with the Apartheid government. In 1960 she was arrested and spent three months in jail.

Commemoration

In 2008, Jean Bernadt and her husband were commemorated and awarded the

Order of Luthuli The Order of Luthuli is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003, and is granted by the President (government title), president of South Africa, for contributions to South Africa in the following fields: (i) the struggle for ...

for opposing racism and defending the 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 ...

activists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernadt, Jean 1914 births 2011 deaths South African activists South African women activists White South African anti-apartheid activists Black Sash Women civil rights activists

Education

Activities

Commemoration

See also

References