| | This biography of black South African socialist Johnny Gomas is an important contribution to South African social history which has not yet received the scholarly attention it merits. The collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern block stalinism and the unbanning of the South African Communist Party (SACP) have opened a debate on socialism in South Africa, forcing the SACP to reconsider its own history. Yet, too often, the party's own writings and sympathetic 'peoples histories' have glossed over controversial issues and personalities. Johnny Gomas' contribution to the African struggle has been unduly neglected because his lifelong commitment to South Africa's black working class frequently put him at odds with party policy and eventually pushed him to embrace Africanism. |
