An African American in South Africa: The Travel Notes of Ralph J. Bunche, 28 September 1937-1 January 1938

Ralph J. Bunche is one of the best known black personalities of the twentieth century. As an official in the United Nations, he was the architect of peacekeeping efforts around the world, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950 for his mediation efforts in the Middle East. Bunche's introduction to international affairs came in the 1930s when he was a radical activist and political scientist at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He was a pioneering Africanist, carrying out fieldwork in Francophone West Africa for his Harvard Ph.D. dissertation and in South Africa and East Africa as part of a two-year, round-the-world research odyssey funded by the Social Science Research Council. Bunche stopped over in South Africa for three months in late 1937 to study fieldwork methodology with the eminent anthropologist Isaac Schapera. He took advantage of his entry into South Africa to travel throughout the country and meet prominent figures in the Coloured, Indian, and African communities. He kept copious notes on his observations, impressions, and reflections on a wide range of issues: race relations, black living conditions, African political leadership and organizations, education, health care, sports and social life, the legal system, and religion. These notes are the basis of this edited volume. Bunche was never able to produce the book he planned on South Africa, so his notes are a testament to his skills and insights as a researcher. They are also a unique source for illuminating a fascinating period in South Africa's past and they present a vivid portrait of life in segregated South Africa.