Mkhuseli Jack

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"Once you cut the ground out under their feet, the government starts to panic" – Mkhuseli Jack [4]

The initial demands made by the leaders of the boycott were simple and included the opening of public facilities to all races, the removal of troops from the townships, the release of Nelson Mandela and that blacks and whites share a single education system. [8] The demands were a factor, which caused such success and growth in participation for the boycott. They were in line with what the people in the townships around Port Elizabeth wanted.

As the Consumer Boycott Campaign continued, support for it increased. The scope of the entire campaign as well as its demands grew as a result. A second state of emergency was declared by the government on 12 June 1986. The international seclusion and its effects on the economy, coupled with the internal factor of an ever growing consumer boycott campaign, forced the regime to initiate negotiations.

Mkhuseli Jack, along with other leaders of the boycott, was jailed in August 1986 for his role in the campaign and released almost three years later in May 1989. [9]

"The boycott succeeded because of broad mass participation, because of international solidarity, the fact that the regimes violence against our people backfired and the resilience of our people" – Mkhuseli Jack [4]

Post apartheid activity and influence

In the early 1990s, Mkhuseli Jack earned an honours degree in Economics & Development Studies at Sussex University in England. [10] He worked for different companies, principally in development and management, including:

He is a member of the Eastern Cape Demarcation Board, the National Fishing Quota Board, the SA Statistics Council , Algoa FM, Irvin & Johnson and Omega Risk Solutions. He also serves as Chairman of the Port Elizabeth Technical Colleges, St Francis Hospice and Emfuleni Resorts. [11] In 2009, Mkhuseli Jack was named as one of a group of powerful Eastern Cape businesspeople that emerged as bankrollers of the breakaway political party, the Congress of the People (COPE), which formally split from the ANC on the 1. November 2008.

Today, Mkhuseli Jack is a businessman in Port Elizabeth. He is also a professor at the 2013 School of Authentic Journalism. Parallel to that, Jack is raising a family with his wife Karen with whom he has two children. On 19 June 2013, he received "The Lawson Award", dedicated to people who are leaders in environmental protection, protection of indigenous peoples, political rights, and fight for the end of racism. [12] [13] In 2006 a coalition of more than 70 Palestinian civil society organisations launched a call for boycott directly inspired by Mkhuseli Jack's action, against the Israeli state, known as the BDS campaign. [4]

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References

  1. ↑ South African History Online. "Mkhuseli Jack". South African History. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  2. ↑ O'Malley, Padraig. "Mkhsueli Jack". Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "South African Youth Congress (SAYCO)". South African History online. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Rothschild, Lehee. "Mkhuseli "Khusta" Jack and the Art of the Boycott". The Narco News Bulletin. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  5. 1 2 "A Force More Powerful" . Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "South African History Online: Mkhuseli Jack" . Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  7. ↑ "The Wall Street Journal: South African Blacks Enforce a Boycott As Best Way to Force Change on Whites" . Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  8. ↑ "The Wall Street Journal,"Mkhuseli Jack:Black Leader With Clout"" . Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  9. ↑ "Edmonton Journal: S. Africa frees black leaders of boycott" . Retrieved 1 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Mkhuseli Jack". South African History Online. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Company Overview of African Brick Centre Ltd". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  12. ↑ Anitoda, Den. "Mkhuseli Jack, Anti-Apartheid Leaders Dedicate For Papuan People's Award". Witness Hometown. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  13. ↑ Youtube. "FSI 2013: The James Lawson Awards". Nonviolentconflict. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
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Mkhuseli Jack
Chairperson of Build One South Africa
Assumed office
24 September 2022