The Teachers' League of South Africa (TLSA) was an organization for

coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

teachers founded in

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 ...

in June of 1913. The group, while originally focused on issues surrounding education, became increasingly political in the mid-1940s and started to agitate against

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 ...

. Due to state suppression, the group became defunct in 1963.

History

TLSA was started in

in June of 1913 as a group for

teachers. One of the founding members was

Harold Cressy Harold Cressy (1 February 1889 – 23 August 1916) was a South African headteacher and activist. He was the first Coloured person to gain a degree in South Africa and he worked to improve education for non-white South Africans. He co-founded a ...

and the

African Political Organization The African Political Organization, later known as the African People's Organization (APO), was a coloured political organisation in early-20th-century South Africa. Founded in Cape Town in 1902, the organisation rallied South African coloureds a ...

(APO) laid the foundations that allowed TLSA to grow.

Abdullah Abdurahman Abdullah Abdurahman (18 December 1872 – 2 February 1940) was a South African politician and physician, born in Wellington, South Africa. He was the first Coloured city councillor of Cape Town, and the first ever Coloured South African to w ...

had a large influence on the early group. There were less than a hundred members to start with, but grew to around 1,500 in the mid 1940s. The official publication of TLSA was the ''Education Journal''. In 1934, TLSA changed its constitution so that membership was no longer limited to coloured teachers. TLSA began to agitate against the South African government, starting around 1937. In 1943, the group affiliated with the Non European Unity Movement (NEUM). It also affiliated with the Natal Indian Teachers' Society (NITS). TLSA began to expand from its original mandate of improving working conditions for teachers and began to fight

. As TLSA became more

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

, some

moderates Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

left in 1944 to form the Teachers' Educational and Professional Association (TEPA). After the

Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of ...

, TLSA became defunct, due to "state repression." Around 1960, the current president of TLSA, Willem P. Van Schoor, was

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

. In June of 1963, TLSA had its final conference.

Notable members

Neville Alexander Neville Edward Alexander (22 October 1936 – 27 August 2012) was a proponent of a multilingual South Africa and a former revolutionary who spent ten years on Robben Island as a fellow-prisoner of Nelson Mandela. Early life Alexander was born ...

Dulcie September Dulcie Evonne September (20 August 1935 – 29 March 1988) was a South African anti-apartheid political activist. Born in Athlone, Western Cape, South Africa, she was assassinated in Paris, France. Early life The second eldest daughter of Jak ...

* Dorothy Williams

References

Sources

* * {{Authority control 1913 establishments in South Africa 1963 disestablishments in Africa Anti-Apartheid organisations Education advocacy groups