How leadership affects change
In his book, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, historian and political scientist David Welsh quotes Absolom Vilakazi to say, “disorganization and disintegration are simultaneously accompanied by reorganization and reintegration.”[1]
Part of what Welsh sets out to show in his book is the dynamic flow between “disorientation” or the deteriorating situation in South Africa for the African (ie: black African) people, and then the way that “reorganization” comes to take place. Throughout the book, he highlights major events and people, but also takes care to show the “grass-roots” way that change happens. There is a certain amount of “real polik” at work in the history of South Africa, where things evolved over time and at each step, what had come before, led to the new development.
Welsh says, “In 1948, on the eve of the coming of apartheid, South Africa was already a comprehensively racialised, segregated state. Apartheid would entrench and extend what were already established institutions and apply them more ruthlessly.”[2] The reality on the ground, or the life situation as it was actually felt, was the soil in which the weed of apartheid grew and flourished. Historical events always grow up within the context around them and do not spring “ex nihilo” into life.
This is a challenging idea to me because it suggests that the creeping influence of these racial divisions and control, which came be codified and made into law as “apartheid, were actually felt and well known long before that happened. In the pre-history to the apartheid era, Welsh lifts up some of the early White and Black advocates for the Black African population, but there is a deafening silence among many of those white Christians (either of Boer or British heritage) who disagreed with these policies. What is challenging to me is that this is the group of my own national and spiritual heritage (Dutch Reformed), but even more than that, it is the group of which I am a part now.
Here in the United States in 2017, I sit as a white Protestant faith leader, in much the same place as those forbearers. Given much privilege and status, in particular when it comes to speaking out or keeping silence, I read this book with one eye on the history and one eye on the present.
An additional layer that Welsh brings out in the book, is that for many poor Afrikaaners, their struggles paralleled those of Black South Africans, and yet, by nature of their racial identity, they came to feel superior. Again, the links to the contemporary situation in the United States leap off the page. The “politics of resentment” are alive and well in our nation, especially among those who feel left behind or lost within a nation that is changing rapidly. So, again, the challenge to me is how to hear the South African history for what it is, but also to let the links to my own country and experience come to light.
One critical factor on both sides of the line with Apartheid, as drawn out in the book, was leadership. Welsh uses examples of leaders like PW Botha and Dr. HF Verwoerd to show how skillful and willful they had to be in order to develop the official Apartheid system. This was a structure which was always splintered and not-fully-embraced, and yet was able to develop and become entrenched, even over-against internal and external condemnation. It was the people involved, these leaders, who made this history happen.
Toward the end of the regime, it was leadership that mattered most as well. From F.W. de Klerk, who oversaw the peaceful transition, to Nelson Mandela, the spiritual center of the anti-apartheid movement, it took leadership to re-direct the path of history. Welsh writes, “South Africa’s transition underlines the importance of leadership of the contending parties: it was vital to keep their respsective constituencies in line, to prepare them for the inevitable compromises and to have some flexibility. It was also important that mutual trust be built up.”[3]
One of the strengths of this book is that it not only focuses on the “top level leaders” (whose names are internationally known), but it also plumbs personal histories, letters and conversations to bring out the lower level people, those who risked their reputations, their freedom and their lives in order to affect change where they were. Reading about the people whose names I had never heard was one of the links that this book brought from history to the current time.
As I reflect on this book from the present moment, it is a sobering read. The book does not let the reader dwell in the gauzy and vague recollection of “the end of apartheid” as if it had always been a foregone conclusion, or as if it were a made-for-tv-story. The truth is that change (for good or evil) happens over a long course of time, and that it depends upon leaders at every level.
I imagine that many people would like to be seen as “the Mandela” of some cause or justice issue of their day. And Nelson Mandela stands as a world-wide icon for the part he played in the anti-apartheid struggle, but especially for how he worked for reconciliation in the transition and during his presidency. And yet, much more likely, we are called (and I am called) to play a small, but active part, with less fanfare, in the challenges of our day. This book helped remind me of that.
One example from the book that stuck out to me[4] was the student leader, Philip Kgosana, and the “good cop”, Colonel IPS Terblanche. Each had a particular position or sphere of influence, and each used their leverage, their networks, and their moral standing to avert a disaster between student protesters and police. I had never heard either of their names before, but in their story, I see again the way that the great movements also have many “minor movements” within them. And it takes people of conviction to step into those struggles. I am open and seeking in these days to discover the “minor moments” where my leadership, words and actions can have a meaningful impact.
[1] David Welsh, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, 48
[2] Ibid, 47
[3] Ibid, 347
[4] Ibid, see pages 122-124
About the Author
Dave Watermulder
9 responses to “How leadership affects change”
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I loved how you highlighted the important role of the “minor” leaders in the apartheid conflict and how they can be responsible for crucial “minor” movements in the journey. Your statement … “Each had a particular position or sphere of influence, and each used their leverage, their networks, and their moral standing to avert a disaster between student protesters and police.” was a powerful example. Insightful post, see you next week.
Good perspective, Dave. Yes, there were leaders on all levels and on both sides that contributed to the outcome. As you reflect on your leadership, have you thought of places or ways that you can have a positive influence?
Thanks for the comment, Jennifer–
I think there are a lot of ways that I have a positive impact, especially through my church. I think within the walls, there is setting the tone and culture, there are the conversations that I lead, the topics that I bring up, and the meetings among people that I convene. These are all parts of my leadership. In the community, it is harder to say, since the affects of being in such a secular place are strong. Being a faith leader doesn’t give you a place at the table, I really would have to “earn the right to be heard”. See you soon!
Dave,
Thanks for your humble reflections on your own heritage considering the racial themes that emerged from Welsh’s book. I encourage you to “stand firm” because your spiritual battle is not a fight against flesh and blood. (1) I am not trying to preach to a pastor, but just wanted to encourage you as a brother in Christ that this fight has already been fought and won, at the cross!
You like to mine I see, and you did a great job digging out the leadership nuggets that Welsh seeded the book with. Thanks for the link to the “good cop” episode.(2) I can identify with Terblanche, when facing lose-lose situations, that leaders must balance risk, protect life, and do what is right, even if it puts them personally and professionally in peril. I look forward to more discussions like this with you in Cape Town.
Stand firm,
M Webb
(1) Eph. 6:12 ESV
(2) David Welsh. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009) 115.
Thanks for the encouragement! See you soon.
Your words challenged me, “And yet, much more likely, we are called (and I am called) to play a small, but active part, with less fanfare, in the challenges of our day.”
I hope we all can talk about these opportunities whilst (a word I hear Dr. Jason Clark use) we are together soon…
Dave,
I agree that as a white male from the US we should not feel guilty rather recognize another’s perspective by recognizing the role we have played and continue to play in racial discrimination. Thanks for this look into your heritage and the role of those that played a part in story shaped history from behind the scenes. Most of us will never be the Mandela, but we all have a part in the story of God and his call to reconciliation.
Hey Dave, thanks for your thoughtful post and especially the less common aspects of the story your brought to share with us, like Philip Kgosana. I don’t know, though, man…I think you might be the next Mandela. See you soon!
Dave, you have answered the question I had been struggling with during our time in South Africa; What can I do? It is one thing to learn about history with its offenses and mistakes, but how do we grow from it as well as help others to not repeat those mistakes. Toward the end of our trip, though I still felt impotent in regards to my ability to change one single iota of the situation in South Africa, I did look around at our group on the last day and realize that it was not just a group of 30-40 people, but rather 30-40 leaders who lead 30-40 churches in the message of Christ’s love and methodology. Imagine if we could learn from South Africa and people like Nelson Mandela, and pass that understanding to those whom God has given us. Could true Christianity truly prevail someday in changing the world? We can only hope and pray. It is called leadership for a reason.
As you mentioned with your illustration of Philip Kgosana, I realized that we have different resources that God has equipped us to use in the battle against hate and prejudice. We may not have the platforms to stand on as Nelson Mandela, but we do have the Word of God and what ever privilege the Great Lord above has given to each of us.
Thanks for your post. Great job.