Solomon Tshekiso Plaatje
Solomon Tshekiso Plaatje, known as Sol T. Plaatje, was a prominent South African intellectual, activist, and writer born in the Orange Free State in 1876. Growing up in a Christian household, he received an education at the Lutheran Berlin Missionary School, which laid the foundation for his future endeavors. Plaatje became a court interpreter and later a civil servant, positions that provided a platform for his advocacy for the rights of black South Africans during a time when they faced systemic marginalization.
In 1902, he started his journalistic career as the editor of a bilingual newspaper, highlighting issues affecting native populations. He was instrumental in founding the South African Native National Congress in 1912, which later evolved into the African National Congress. Plaatje is most recognized for his 1916 book, *Native Life in South Africa*, in which he vehemently criticized the Native Lands Act of 1913, which dispossessed black South Africans of their land rights. His efforts extended beyond South Africa, as he petitioned in Great Britain for reform and engaged with prominent figures in the United States. A passionate advocate for cultural preservation, Plaatje translated several Shakespearean plays into Tswana, enriching the literary landscape of African languages. His legacy remains a testament to his commitment to social justice and cultural heritage.
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Subject Terms
Solomon Tshekiso Plaatje
Linguist
- Born: October 9, 1876
- Birthplace: Near Boshof, Orange Free State (now in South Africa)
- Died: June 19, 1932
- Place of death: South Africa
Biography
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje, who published under the name Sol T. Plaatje, was born into a large native African family near Boshof in the Orange Free State (an independent republic at the time that is now a province of South Africa). He was the son of Johannes and Martha Plaatje. Plaatje’s forbears were among the first South African converts to Christianity, which made the young Solomon a welcome student at the Lutheran Berlin Missionary School. He attended this school until 1894, when he left to marry Elizabeth M’belle.
His wife’s father was a court interpreter, a position of noteworthy distinction for a native. By 1898, Plaatje had himself become a court interpreter in Mafeking in the Cape Province. The following year, he became a clerk in the civil service, where he served from 1899 to 1902.
From his earliest days, Plaatje was dedicated to bringing reform to South Africa’s blacks. The institution of apartheid had not yet been established, but people of color, although they represented a numerical majority, were consigned to marginal existences. Plaatje’s activism led him to seek a means of remedying this situation.
In 1902, Plaatje became editor of Koranta ea Becoana, the bilingual newspaper published in his native language, Tswana, as well as in English. He held this post until 1910. He was the outspoken editor of two more newspapers between 1910 and 1915. Plaatje mastered not only Tswana, but also six African and European languages, including English.
By 1912, Plaatje’s zeal for social reform had led him to become the founder and general secretary of the South African Native National Congress, which evolved into the African National Congress. In this position, he went to Great Britain petitioning for the repeal of the Native Lands Act of 1913, which he decried in his newspaper editorials, outraged that this act essentially stole from native blacks property that was rightfully theirs. Although his pleas fell on deaf ears in Great Britain, Plaatje remained there through World War I. During his residency there, he wrote three books. In Native Life in South Africa, considered his most significant book, he makes a relentless attack upon the Native Lands Act.
Plaatje, his international reputation established, returned to South Africa in the early 1920’s, but he soon was back in Great Britain attempting again to achieve justice for his people. He then visited the United States, where he met with Marcus Garvey and W. E. B. Du Bois.
A man of letters and a consummate intellectual, Plaatje continued to write political essays and books on his native language, whose preservation meant a great deal to him. He also made the first translations of William Shakespeare into an African language, translating six Shakespearean plays but publishing only his translations of A Comedy of Errors and Julius Caesar.