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With sharp intellect and warm humor, Lionel Morrison tells the story of the struggle for freedom in South Africa and beyond, revealing the intimate experience of grand geopolitical shiftsApartheid in South Africa was arbitrary and ferocious-its end is widely celebrated. Yet the monumental difficulties faced by the movement for liberation and the sacrifices made by ordinary yet remarkable individuals have been hidden in the broad sweep of time.
Celebrated journalist Lionel Morrison brings this history to life, honoring his forgotten comrades. He shares memories as a defendant in the Treason Trial and of periods in prison before being forced to flee South Africa as a stow away, meeting leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement, the heady days of pan-African and Asian nationalism, and fighting racism in Britain.
Completed by Liz Morrison after her husband's death,
Footprints is an ode to community, truth, and resistance.
List of contents
Foreword by Gary YoungeInfluential journalist Gary Younge's brief foreword for the book describes Lionel as a mentor and friend.
Introduction by Liz Morrison
Part I. South Africa
Chapter 1. The Net is Closing InLionel begins the book by describing his escape from South Africa, and finding himself in exile in Britain.
Chapter 2. Standing up to Mr. Vorster
Lionel remembers his early childhood, his grandparents and cousins, in the backdrop of a country sliding towards apartheid.
Chapter 3. School in Zululand
Lionel describes his years at school, and his political awakening in Zululand. Lionel's father takes him to Nelson Mandela for career advice.
Chapter 4. Politics. Politics.
Lionel traces his early political involvement in the campaign to draft South Africa's Freedom Charter, with input from thousands of participants around the country.
Chapter 5. Turning Twenty-One in Prison
Lionel describes his first prison sentence, and the grim conditions of the Fort.
Chapter 6. Agony Aunt with the Drum
Lionel remembers his first job as a journalist at Drum, an important magazine that documented Black South African life, particularly during apartheid.
Chapter 7. On Trial for TreasonA riveting first-hand account of the Treason Trial in South Africa, in which 156 activists including Nelson Mandela were accused.
Chapter 8. A Struggle Over Representation
Lionel describes his disagreement with other comrades and splits in the South African Coloured People's Organisation, which left him feeling isolated.
Chapter 9. Time to Go
Lionel is incarcerated once more after the notorious Sharpeville massacre, and faces difficulties working as a journalist once he is released, finally deciding to leave South Africa for Britain.Part II. Exile
Chapter 10. A Very British RacismLionel begins his new life in London, working for the Anti-Apartheid Movement, reconnecting with old friends now in exile, and campaigning against apartheid within the unions.
Chapter 11. Behind the Iron Curtain
Lionel becomes involved in the Pan-Africanist Congress, non-aligned movement, meets journalists in Eastern Europe, travels to Ghana, and lives on communes in China, almost dying in a pigsty!
Chapter 12. A Coup
Lionel describes his time in Indonesia, going through a coup that led to the devastating murder of his girlfriend and many friends, forcing him to relocate to Algeria and then China.
Chapter 13. Kicked Out of Zambia
Lionel relocated to Zambia to continue his journalism, but was eventually kicked out along with other members of the Pan-African Congress due to rumours of an attempted coup.
Part III. Liz Morrison
Chapter 14. A New Start in London
Liz describes her experience of meeting and getting to know Lionel Morrison.
Chapter 15. A MarriageLionel and Liz get married; although, it becomes clear to Liz that Lionel's commitment to his work and activism will often take priority.
Chapter 16. Sued for Libel
Lionel faces a libel trial after writing an article about British police racism.
Chapter 17. Meeting Lionel's Family
Liz describes a moving, poignant trip to South Africa to meet Lionel's family.
Chapter 18. A Visa for Lionel
Lionel's mother is diagnosed with cancer and after seventeen years, Lionel manages to briefly return to South Africa before his mother passes away.
Chapter 19. Being Challenged
Liz recalls the difficult 1980s with Thatcher in power, a visit from Lionel's father, her son's friend, China Mieville, staying at their home over summer; she speaks frankly about the challenge of being a white mother to two black sons, and the mistakes she made along the way.
Chapter 20. First Black President
Liz writes about Lionel's year as the first black president of the National Union of Journalists in Britain, the battles he faced working under a government hostile to strong unions, and the positive changes he encouraged within the union.
Chapter 21. Health Matters
Lionel survives a serious heart attack, and is compelled to slow down.
Chapter 22. New South Africa
Nelson Mandela is released from prison, and a period of tense negotiations ensues in South Africa. Lionel and Liz visit 'a new' South Africa, travelling there together for the first time.
Chapter 23. Housing Matter
Chapter 24. Lionel is Eighty
About the author
Lionel Morrison was a South African journalist and pan-Africanist. Along with 155 others including Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu, Morrison was tried for treason in 1956. Following his exile from South Africa, he embraced Sukarno's Indonesia, moved to China and was politically active across Africa before returning to Britain. His life's work focused on journalism, trade unionism, and housing activism. He was the first black president of the National Union of Journalists in Britain.
