STRUGGLE legend Helen Joseph, was honoured at Clifton School recently with the naming of the library after her.
Helen Joseph was born Helen Beatrice May Fennell in the United Kingdom. She was a student of English and it was at the University of London in the late 1920s, that she made friends with Dorothy Stubbs, daughter of founding headmaster of Clifton Preparatory School, Harry Stubbs.
When Dorothy left her teaching position to get married, Harry Stubbs offered the job to Ms Fennell, who was on her way back to the United Kingdom after teaching in India. And so from 1930 to 1931, Helen was teacher of the junior boys at Clifton Prep. Helen met local Durban dentist, Billie Joseph, and gave up her teaching career to get married.
Helen Joseph, however, never became a housewife. During World War 2, she signed up for the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce and after the war she found work in the Garment Workers Union and as a social worker.
She was confronted by the injustices of South African life and rebelled – becoming a founder member of the Congress of Democrats, which was a group of white activists who allied with the ANC. She was also National Secretary of the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) in the 1950s.
She read clauses of the Freedom Charter at the Congress of the People in June 1955 and is probably most famously remembered as a prominent figure and leader in the Women’s March on 9 August 1956.
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Unfortunately, through most of the 1960s and 1970s, Helen was terrorised and persecuted by the security police – facing house arrest and assassination attempts.
It is sad that she never lived to see democracy in our country but at least she lived to see the release of Nelson Mandela – and when she passed in 1992 – she knew freedom was on the horizon.
Helen Joseph’s contribution and legacy are commemorated most notably at Clifton School. In 2017, the College launched the Helen Joseph Oratory Competition between themselves, Durban Girls’ College and Maris Stella.
The foundation of this public speaking competition was in the very spirit that motivated Helen – the power of standing up and speaking out.
In 2020, Clifton is further proud to honour her legacy by naming the Clifton Library – the centre of the Preparatory School – after her. Local artist Joan Martin was commissioned by the school to paint a portrait of Helen Joseph.
The piece is composed with white acrylic, charcoal and black pencil crayon with Joan’s signature use of an old credit card to add texture. This beautiful piece was unveiled at a naming ceremony in recognition of a courageous and inspirational woman who fought against the iniquities of an unjust regime.
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