Wikipedia

Workers Party of South Africa

Also found in: Acronyms.

The Workers Party of South Africa (WPSA) was the first Trotskyist organisation in South Africa to have a national base. It published a regular newspaper, Spark.

The party was founded in 1935 by the majority of the Cape Town-based Lenin Club and the Johannesburg-based Bolshevik-Leninist League of South Africa. Founding members included Isaac Bangani Tabata, Dora Taylor, Ralph Lee and Isaac Blank (later known as Ted Grant). Its first initiative was to intervene in the All African Convention, called to oppose the Hertzog Bills, which aimed to complete the implementation of apartheid in the nation. The group opposed both the system of apartheid and calls for black nationalism.

The group founded the Non-European Unity Movement (NEUM), in which Tabata would play a central role for many years, while Goolam Gool represented the group on the similar but Communist Party of South Africa-led National Liberation League.

In 1939, facing increasing repression, the group went underground and began working solely through the NEUM. As a result, when the government banned groups based on the teachings of Marx, Lenin and Trotsky in 1950, its activities were unaffected. Some sources claim that the WPSA ceased to exist in 1953, although due to its secretive nature, this is difficult to confirm.

References

This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia® - the free encyclopedia created and edited by its online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of Wikipedia® encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information, please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.

Copyright © 2003-2025 Farlex, Inc Disclaimer
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.