South Africa’s first back president, Nelson Mandela. Photo: John Hogg
Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo made history in 1952 when they opened South Africa’s first black law firm. They achieved this incredible feat during the oppressive apartheid regime, inspiring a whole generation of black people to go after their dreams.
In his autobiography, Mandela wrote: “We were not the only African lawyers in South Africa, but we were the only firm of African lawyers.
“For Africans, we were the firm of first choice and last resort. To reach our offices each morning, we had to move through a crowd of people in the hallways, on the stairs, and in our small waiting room.”
Here are five notable black people who broke barriers:
Errol George Tobias
Tobias made history when he became the first black player to represent South Africa in Test rugby. He paved the way for other black men who longed to be part of the sports but were not interested due to the discrimination.
Dr Mmaki Jantjies
She is the first black South African woman to achieve a PhD in computer science from the University of Warwick. She is passionate about ensuring that the African perspective and voice are heard in emerging technology innovations and skills development.
Ranti Mothapo
Ranti graduated in Actuarial Science and Mathematical Statistics. He went on to qualify as South Africa’s first black actuary. Ranti also holds the record for being the youngest person in the country to qualify as an actuary.
Veliswa Boya
She is the country’s first black female cloud engineer. With STEM already being so male dominated, she broke the glass ceiling for black women and other women of colour.
William Anderson Soga
Even long before Mandela, black South Africans were reaching for the seemingly impossible.
Soga was the first black medical doctor in SA. He got his qualification in medicine from Glasgow, Scotland, in 1883. He got the licence to practise in the Cape from 1890. Soga opened his first practice in 1904.
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