Now Available: International Marxist Group Africa Commission Collection

The African Studies Library is pleased to announce that the International Marxist Group Africa Commission Collection examining socialism in South Africa from the London-based group c. 1960-90 is now available for consultation.

IMG/2/8: Namibia : a guide to action. Namibia Support Committee issuing body. London : Namibia Support Committee, 1981. 19-page magazine with black and white images.

Collection overview

The material appears to have been collected by somebody with connections to the Africa Commission, apparently Charlie van Gelderen. Much of it is typewritten memoranda for circulation internal to the group, but there are also photocopies of articles and drafts for publication in radical newsletters such as Dissent.

Some of the material originated in London during the 1970s. The London-based group were evidently very conscious of being almost entirely white, their only black member being Joseph Karanja. While a broad concern is anti-colonialism in Africa generally, there is a particular emphasis on South Africa. The group’s aims were to maintain contacts with African radicals in exile and encourage activism among African students and African trade
unions. The newsletter ‘Africa in Struggle’ was their vehicle for dissemination of their programme. In British politics, their explicitly avowed aim is to enter and influence the Labour Party through the Militant Tendency.

Other material comes from South Africa. Relations with the ANC and the SACP appear to have been fractious, due to the Trotskyist outlook of the IMG and the Fourth International. Likewise, relations with the Unity Movement were sometimes tetchy (see article by Hosea Jaffe – IMG/1/20).

Description prepared by Dr. Alexander Lindsay, Senior Library Assistant to the Centre of African Studies Library, 2023.

IMG/1/12: Die Suid-Afrikaan. Stellenbosch : Voorbrand-publikasies, Herfs 1987

Collection Specifics

The collection is made up of two boxes and contains 70 items. You may be interested in this collection if you’re researching any of the following:

South Africa
Trade Unions
Marxism
Student-political movements
Political movements from around Africa c. 1980

Notable items in the IMG Collection:

IMG/1/4: The national situation / by Dr Neville Alexander.
IMG/1/12: Die Suid-Afrikaan
IMG/1/13: Die Suid-Afrikaan
IMG/1/14: Azania worker.
IMG/1/15: Azania worker.
IMG/1/16: Solidarity : official organ of the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania.
IMG/2/8: Namibia : a guide to action.
IMG/2/9: No turning back : a message to the nation / by Flt-Lt J.J. Rawlings.
IMG/2/22: The Transkei and the case for separate development.

Physical Collection Key:

The titles in this collection are catalogued on iDiscover and should be linked to their online record in the finding aid. Please click the respective links in the finding aid to find more information about individual items.
The format of the item starts with the IMG box coding, followed by the item’s title, and then up to two bullet points beneath stating publishing information and any notable details where applicable.
Dates, or for items undated, are bolded as such for ease of scanning
If accessing the finding aid online, we recommend using the search bar (ctrl+f or cmd+f) to look for keywords.