Editing Ruth First

{{short description|South African journalist, scholar and anti-apartheid activist (1925–1982)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}}
{{Use South African English|date=April 2013}}
{{infobox person
| name               = Ruth First
| image              = RuthFirst.jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = First c. 1960
| birth_name         = Heloise Ruth First
| birth_date         = {{birth date|df=yes|1925|5|4|}}
| birth_place        = [[Johannesburg]], [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]]
| death_date         = {{death date and age|1982|8|17|1925|5|4|df=y}}
| death_place        = [[Maputo]], [[Mozambique]]
| occupation         = Anti-[[apartheid]] activist
| spouse             = [[Joe Slovo]]
| children           = [[Shawn Slovo]], [[Gillian Slovo]], [[Robyn Slovo]]
}}
{{Apartheid}}
'''Heloise Ruth First''' [[Order of Luthuli|OLG]] (4 May 1925 &ndash; 17 August 1982) was a South African anti-[[apartheid]] activist and scholar. She was assassinated in [[Mozambique]], where she was working in exile, by a [[letter bomb|parcel bomb]] built by South African police.

==Family and education==
Ruth First was born 4 May 1925 in [[Johannesburg]] to her [[Jewish]] parents, Julius First and Matilda Leveta. Julius emigrated to South Africa from [[Latvia]] when he was 10 years old, and Matilda emigrated from [[Lithuania]] when she was four years old. They were both anti-apartheid activists and became founding members of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), the forerunner of the [[South African Communist Party]] (SACP). Ruth First was brought up in [[Kensington, Gauteng|Kensington]] where she and her brother, Ronald First, were raised in a highly political household. At age 14, Ruth was a member of the Young Left Wing Book Club.<ref name="JWA">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/first-ruth |website=Jewish Women’s Archive |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> Like her parents, she joined the Communist Party,<ref name="Marks 1983 123–128">{{cite journal|last=Marks|first=Shula|title=Ruth First: A Tribute|journal=Journal of Southern African Studies|date=October 1983|volume=10|issue=1|pages=123–128|doi=10.1080/03057078308708071|jstor=2636820}}</ref> which was allied with the [[African National Congress]] in its struggle to overthrow the apartheid government of South Africa.

As a teenager, First attended [[Jeppe High School for Girls]] and then became the first person in her family to attend university. She received her [[bachelor's degree]] in Social Science from the [[University of the Witwatersrand]] in 1946, receiving firsts in anthropology, economic history, sociology, and native administration.<ref name="SAHO">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/ruth-first |website=South African History Online |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref> While she was at university, she found that "on a South African campus, the student issues that matter are national issues". She was involved in the founding of the Federation of Progressive Students, also known as the Progressive Students League,<ref name="Marks 1983 123–128"/> and got to know, among other fellow students, [[Nelson Mandela]], future [[President (government title)|President]] of [[South Africa]], and [[Eduardo Mondlane]], the first leader of the Mozambique freedom movement [[FRELIMO]]. She was also the secretary of the [[Young Communist League]] and for a short time, was active in the Johannesburg CPSA.<ref name="SAHO">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/ruth-first |website=South African History Online |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>

After graduating, First worked as a research assistant for the Social Welfare Division of the Johannesburg City Council. In 1946, her position in the Communist Party was boosted significantly after a series of mine strikes during which leading members of the Party were arrested. After this, First requested an interview with the Director of Social Welfare where she announced she would like to leave her department without serving her customary notice first. First then became the editor-in-chief of the radical newspaper ''The Guardian'', which was subsequently banned by the state under the Communism Suppression Act and often changed names due to repressive state actions and media censorship.<ref name="Marks 1983 123–128"/> Through investigative journalism, First exposed the racial segregation policies known as [[apartheid]], targeting black South Africans following the rise of the National Party in 1948.<ref name=jwa>{{Cite web|url=https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/first-ruth|title=Ruth First {{!}} Jewish Women's Archive|first= Milton|last= Shain|author2= Miriam Pimstone|website=jwa.org|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref>

In 1949, she married [[Joe Slovo]], a South African anti-apartheid activist and Communist, with whom she had three daughters, [[Shawn Slovo|Shawn]], [[Gillian Slovo|Gillian]] and [[Robyn Slovo|Robyn]]. Together, Slovo and First became a leading force in the 1950s protest era in which the government outlawed any movements that opposed their policies.<ref name=jwa />

In addition to her work with ''The Guardian'' and its successors, the [[South African Congress of Democrats]] (COD), a White-only wing of the Congress Alliance, was founded in 1953 with support from First when the ANC expressed need for a group of White activists to endorse their policies and break through to members of the Nationalist party.<ref name="117 Days">{{cite book |last1=First |first1=Ruth |title=117 Days: An Account of Confinement and Interrogation under the South African 90-Day Detention Law |date=2009 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |location=New York |isbn=9781101050873 |url=https://archive.org/details/ruth-first-117-days |access-date=29 March 2025}}</ref>{{rp|136}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/ruth-heloise-first|title=Ruth Heloise First {{!}} South African History Online|website=sahistory.org.za|access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref> In 1955, she assumed the position of editor of a radical political journal called ''Fighting Talk''. First and Slovo were also members of the African National Congress, in addition to the Communist Party. She also played an active role during the extensive riots of the 1950s.<ref name="Marks 1983 123–128"/> Ruth was on the drafting committee of the [[Freedom Charter]], but was unable to attend its presentation on 25 June 1955 at the Congress of the People at Kliptown due to a banning order. Ruth also traveled to the [[International Union of Students]] and the founding conferences of the [[World Federation of Democratic Youth]]. She visited the Soviet Union, China, Britain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, and France.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|136}}

==Treason trial and detention==
First was one of the defendants in the [[Treason Trial]] of 1956–1961, alongside 155 other leading anti-apartheid activists who were key figures in the [[Congress Alliance]]. First's early work and writings were largely used as evidence to prove treason on behalf of the [[Congress Alliance]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Marks|first=Shula|date=1 October 1983|title=Ruth first: a tribute|journal=Journal of Southern African Studies|volume=10|issue=1|pages=123–128|doi=10.1080/03057078308708071|issn=0305-7070}}</ref>

Following four years of harassment by the state, First alongside the 155 other activists were all acquitted of their charges. After the state of emergency that followed the [[Sharpeville massacre]] in 1960, she was listed and banned. She could not attend meetings or publish, and she could not be quoted. Her husband was arrested, and she fled to [[Swaziland]] with their children in order to avoid arrest. During the second half of the state of emergency, she returned to Johannesburg with her children secretly and lived underground.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|137}} In 1961, Ruth traveled to [[Namibia]] to interview the native Africans in the region. Though she was refused access to archived records, the material she collected during her four day trip was used to write her first book ''South West Africa'' (owning a copy was punishable by up to five years in prison).<ref name="gariwo">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/apartheid/ruth-first-25320.html |website=en.gariwo.net |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> Around this time she also helped arrange the first broadcasts of Radio Freedom in Johannesburg.<ref name="SAHO" /> Following this trip, Ruth was restricted for five years to the magisterial district of Johannesburg. In 1963, during the raid on [[Lilliesleaf Farm]] in [[Rivonia]], multiple high ranking activists including Nelson Mandela were captured and given life in prison. Neither Ruth or her husband were present at the time of the raid. However,  Ruth was arrested by security police in the main hall of Witwatersrand Library. She was imprisoned and held in isolation without charge for 117 days under the Ninety-Day Detention Law. She was the first white woman to be detained under this law.<ref name="First 1965 vii">{{cite book|last=First|first=Ruth|title=117 Days|year=1965|publisher=Penguin|page=vii|oclc=222077295}}</ref> After she was detained, her home was searched by police where they found a copy of “Fighting Talk,” owning which was punishable by a minimum of one year in prison.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|5}} She was originally placed at Marshall Square police station, and many of her belongings were taken. Ruth’s cell door was bolted after she had an encounter with fellow activist Hazel Goldreich.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|22}}<br />

She was often questioned about her involvement in Rivonia, but she never revealed any information to the police. Her brother Ronald was also detained, though he was released three weeks later.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|62, 91}} Ruth was later moved to the Pretoria Central Prison where she was put under much higher security. She was eventually brought back to Marshall Square in Johannesburg and released on 7 November 1963.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|98, 121}} However, she was then arrested a second time for another period of 90 days after the Minister of Justice re-sentenced activists who served their 90 days without revealing information to the police (though she only served an extra 27 days).<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|123}} While in prison, she performed a short-lived hunger strike.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|127, 128}} Ruth attempts suicide by consuming a bottle of pills prescribed to her to treat a stress-induced stomach ulcer, but she does not succeed in her attempt.<ref name="117 Days" />{{rp|147-150}} Ruth was released from prison 4 December 1963 with no charges.

==Exile and assassination==
[[File:Ruth First and Joe Slovo (5021266886).jpg|thumb|Plaque in [[Camden Town]], London]]
In March 1964, First went into exile in [[London]], where she became active in the British [[Anti-Apartheid Movement]]. Ruth edited the biographies of Nelson Mandela, Govan Mbeki, and Oginga Odinga in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. She travelled across Africa between 1964 and 1968 to study independence struggles in Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, and Sudan. As a result, she was established as a scholar of international standing.<ref name="gariwo">{{cite web |title=Ruth First |url=https://en.gariwo.net/righteous/apartheid/ruth-first-25320.html |website=en.gariwo.net |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref> She was a Research Fellow at the [[University of Manchester]] in 1972, and between 1973 and 1978 she lectured in development studies at the [[Durham University|University of Durham]]. She also spent periods on secondment at universities in [[Dar es Salaam]] and Lourenço Marques, [[Maputo]].

In November 1978, First took up the post of director of research at the Centre of African Studies (Centro de Estudos Africanos), [[Universidade Eduardo Mondlane]] in Maputo, [[Mozambique]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Why Was Ruth First in Mozambique?|date=December 2014|url=http://www.unive.it/media/allegato/dep/n26-2014/03_Bridget_O_Laughlin.pdf|publisher=Deportate, Esuli e Profughe [Deported Exiles and Refugees], no. 26, pp. 26–41|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=8 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108191327/http://www.unive.it/media/allegato/dep/n26-2014/03_Bridget_O_Laughlin.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was assassinated by the order of [[Craig Williamson]], a major in the [[South African Police]], on 17 August 1982, when she opened a parcel bomb that had been sent to the university.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov.za/trc/media/1999/9902/s990222a.htm|title=TRC hears eye witness account of Ruth First bomb blast|website=SAPA|agency=South African Press Association|date=22 February 1999|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Ruth First: Williamson given amnesty|date=1 June 2000|url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/ruth-first-williamson-given-amnesty-39251|publisher=Independent Online (South Africa)|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref> Bridget O'Laughlin, an anthropologist working with First, was in First's office when she was murdered, and testified to the [[Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa)|Truth and Reconciliation Commission]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Bridget O'Laughlin testimony to TRC (half-way through the file)|date=22 February 1999|url=http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/amntrans%5C1999/9902220304_pre_990222pt.htm|publisher=TRC|access-date=8 January 2017}}</ref> Presidents and ambassadors from 34 different countries were at her funeral in Maputo on 24 August 1982.<ref name="Britannica">{{cite web |title=Ruth First {{!}} South Africa, Apartheid, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-First |website=www.britannica.com |access-date=29 March 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

==Memoirs==
First's book, ''117 Days'', is her account of her arrest, imprisonment and interrogation by the [[South African Police]] [[Security Branch (South Africa)|Special Branch]] in 1963. It was first published in 1965. The memoir provides a detailed account of how she endured "isolation and sensory deprivation" while withstanding "pressure to provide information about her comrades to the Special Branch".<ref name="First 1965 vii"/>
 
Her daughter, the writer [[Gillian Slovo]], published her own memoir, ''Every Secret Thing: My Family, My Country'', in 1997. It is an account of her childhood in South Africa and her relationship with her activist parents.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/25/reviews/970525.25geigert.html|title=Books {{!}} The Cause Came First|first= H. Jack|last=Geiger|website=The New York Times|date=25 May 1997|access-date=22 January 2025}}</ref>

==Films==
The film ''[[A World Apart (1988 film)|A World Apart]]'' (1988), which has a screenplay by her daughter [[Shawn Slovo]] and was directed by [[Chris Menges]], is a biographical story about a young white girl living in South Africa with anti-apartheid activist parents, although the family is called Roth in the film. [[Barbara Hershey]] plays the character based on Ruth First.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096464/combined ''A World Apart''], imdb.com. Retrieved 11 March 2013.</ref>

The 2006 film ''[[Catch a Fire (film)|Catch a Fire]]'' about the activist [[Patrick Chamusso]] was written by Shawn Slovo, and in it First is portrayed by another daughter, [[Robyn Slovo]], who was also one of the film's producers.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437232/combined ''Catch a Fire''], imdb.com. Retrieved 11 March 2013.</ref>

==Patrol vessel==
[[File:Fisheries protection vessel Ruth First at Buffels Bay off the Cape Peninsula P9205462.JPG|thumb|Fisheries protection vessel ''Ruth First'' at [[Buffels Bay]].]]

In 2005, the South African Department of Environmental Affairs launched an [[Lillian Ngoyi-class patrol vessel|environmental patrol vessel]] named '''''Ruth First'''''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101130034249/http://southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/sustainable/update/vessels170505.htm BuaNews, 20 May 2005: "SA's marine protection vessels"]. Retrieved 11 March 2013.</ref>

In March 2011, the country of [[The Gambia]] issued a postage stamp in her honour, naming her as one of the [[Legendary Heroes of Africa]].

==Main published works==
{{Library resources box|by=yes|viaf= 49350668 }}
* {{cite book | year = 1963 | title = South West Africa | location = London }}
* {{cite book | year = 1965 | title = 117 Days | location = London }}
* (with R. Segal), {{cite book |  year = 1967 | title = South West Africa: A Travesty of Trust | location = London }}
* {{cite book | year = 1970 | title = The Barrel of a Gun: Political Power in Africa and the Coup d'etat in Africa | location = London }}
* (co-edited with J. Steele and C. Gurney), {{cite book |  year = 1972 | title = The South African Connection: Western Investment in Apartheid | location = London }}
* {{cite book | year = 1970 | title = Libya: The Elusive Revolution | location = London }}
* (with [[Ann Scott (British author)|Ann Scott]]), {{cite book | year = 1980 | title = [[Olive Schreiner]] | publisher = Andre Deutsch |location = London }}
* {{cite book | year = 1983 | title = The Mozambican Miner: Proletarian and Peasant | location = New York }}

==See also==
*[[List of people subject to banning orders under apartheid]]
*[[Marion Sparg]] - female ANC guerilla sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason
*[[Gert Sibande]]
*[[South African potato boycott]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ruthfirstpapers.org.uk Ruth First Papers online]
*[http://archives.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceArchive&search=priref=110023744 Ruth First papers at the University of London]
*[http://www.dur.ac.uk/ruthfirst.trust/ Ruth First Educational Trust] provides opportunities for South African postgraduate students to study at Durham University.
*[http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-08-25-the-first-panafrican-martyr The First pan-African martyr], ''Mail & Guardian'', Adekeye Adebajo, 25 August 2010
*[http://www.jeppegirls.co.za/page.php?p_id=119 Ruth First Jeppe High School for Girls Memorial Trust] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727102331/http://www.jeppegirls.co.za/page.php?p_id=119 |date=27 July 2011}} was set up in July 2010 and will award scholarships for full tuition at Jeppe High School for Girls for the duration of secondary school education.  It is aimed at girls in Grade 7 that show characteristics of leadership, courage, determination and the ability to influence their community positively.
*[http://www.dispatch.co.za/insight-remembering-ruth-first-a-woman-with-vision-passion/ Remembering Ruth First, a woman with vision, passion] {{dead link|date=October 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}, by Peter Vale, ''The Daily Dispatch'', 17 August 2012

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{{DEFAULTSORT:First, Ruth}}
[[Category:20th-century South African politicians]]
[[Category:1925 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Academics of Durham University]]
[[Category:African politicians assassinated in the 1980s]]
[[Category:Assassinated Jews]]
[[Category:Assassinated South African activists]]
[[Category:Assassinated South African politicians]]
[[Category:Deaths by explosive device]]
[[Category:Deaths by letter bomb]]
[[Category:Jewish feminists]]
[[Category:Jewish socialists]]
[[Category:Jewish South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:Jewish South African politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the South African Communist Party]]
[[Category:People acquitted of treason]]
[[Category:People killed in South African intelligence operations]]
[[Category:People murdered in Mozambique]]
[[Category:Politicians assassinated in 1982]]
[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of South Africa]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Luthuli]]
[[Category:Slovo family]]
[[Category:South African anti-apartheid activists]]
[[Category:South African civil rights activists]]
[[Category:South African communists]]
[[Category:South African exiles]]
[[Category:South African feminists]]
[[Category:South African people murdered abroad]]
[[Category:South African people of Latvian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:South African prisoners and detainees]]
[[Category:South African socialists]]
[[Category:South African women civil rights activists]]
[[Category:South African women in politics]]
[[Category:White South African anti-apartheid activists]]