De Lille celebrates Richard van der Ross‚ champion of coloured people

Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille paid tribute to Professor Richard van der Ross‚ who died on Wednesday aged 96.

She described him as “a great son of Cape Town who made an immense contribution to the city as a teacher and activist during apartheid”.

Van der Ross was awarded the freedom of the city in 1988‚ and shared the honour with the likes of ex-president Nelson Mandela‚ Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and the late Struggle stalwart Ahmed Kathrada.

He was the first editor of the Cape Herald‚ and rector of the University of the Western Cape. In 2016‚ he published “In Our Own Skins: A Political History of the Coloured People”.

Said De Lille: “This is a great loss to the city and we extend our heartfelt condolences to his two children‚ Ben van der Ross and Freda Brock‚ and his seven grandchildren‚ family and friends.”

Van der Ross was born in 1921 and studied at the University of Cape Town‚ where he received MA‚ BEd and PhD degrees. In 1961 he was one of the leaders of the coloured “convention” movement‚ according to South Africa History Online.

He advocated contact with African groups while calling for organisation among coloureds so they could cooperate as respected allies.

The Malmesbury Convention‚ signed at a representative meeting in the Western Cape town‚ repudiated governmental bodies such as the Union Council for Coloured Affairs‚ says South African History Online.

It adds: “Later in the 1960s‚ discouraged by the futility of opposition to the basic direction of the government’s policy‚ he argued that apartheid should be opposed and demands made within this framework.

“In 1966 he took part in establishing and became the first president of the Labour Party of South Africa. He resigned in 1967 to become an assistant education planner in the Department of Coloured Affairs.

“For a short period during 1969-1970 he was the first editor of the Cape Herald‚ a newspaper for coloured people. In 1975 he became rector of the University of the Western Cape.”

In the foreword of his book‚ Van der Ross said that while anyone who writes history should expect criticism‚ “for tracing the history of the coloured people‚ I make no apology”.

In an interview at his home in Bergvliet‚ he told Weekend Argus: “I am coloured‚ and I will say it and sing it and talk it.”