Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-01T13:37:28.930Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Max Yergan in South Africa: From Evangelical Pan-Africanist to Revolutionary Socialist

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2014

David H. Anthony III
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Max Yergan was one of the most controversial foreign-born leaders ever associated with modern South Africa. From 1921 to 1936 he was the only black representative of the North American branch of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) permitted to work in the South African field. Yergan's South African service radicalized the young missionary, culminating in his resignation from the YMCA in 1936. The next decade of Yergan's life was devoted to left-wing activism. In 1948 however, ostensibly disillusioned by the onset of the Cold War, Yergan abandoned leftist activism in favor of ultraconservativism.

South Africa loomed large in each of these transformations. This article is concerned with Yergan's shift from evangelical Protestantism to revolutionary socialism, highlighting the critical role that residence in South Africa played in his early political evolution. It also brings into focus the broader subject of Afro-American linkages with Black South Africans, making special reference to the advent and larger significance of Black American YMCA work among Africans.

Max Yergan was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1892, one of several sons of a literate black seamstress named Lizzie Yeargan. While much of his early life is obscure, he seems to have been influenced by the philosophical trends of African Redemption and Ethiopianism which swept many religious communities within the African Diaspora during the last quarter of the 19th century.

Type
Articles
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , September 1991 , pp. 27 - 55
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 1991

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Althusser, L. 1971 “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes Toward an Investigation).” In Lenin and Philosophy, 127–85. New York: Monthly Review Press.Google Scholar
Anthony, D. H. 1975 “A Pan-African Enigma: The Life of Max Yergan.” M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Anthony, D. H. 1988 “Max Yergan and South Africa, The Evolution of a Relationship.” Seminar, Institute of Southern African Studies, National University of Lesotho.Google Scholar
Anthony, D. H. 1988 “Americanism in the Eastern Cape: Max and Susle Yergan at Fort Hare, 1921-1936.” In Apartheid and Education, II, edited by Kallaway, P. Under submission.Google Scholar
Bantu World. 1923-37 12 1932-25 12 1937.Google Scholar
Beinart, W. and Bundy, C. 1981 “The Union, the Nation and the Talking Crow: The Language and Tactics of the Independent ICU in East London, 1929-1935.” In Collected Seminar Papers, The Societies of Southern Africa in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, 12/28. University of London: Institute of Commonwealth Studies.Google Scholar
Beinart, W. and Bundy, C. 1987 Hidden Struggles in Rural South Africa: Politics and Popular Movements in the Transkei and Eastern Cape, 1890-1930. Johannesburg: Ravan Press.Google Scholar
Brown, W.M. 1922 Communism and Christianism Analyzed and Contrasted from the Marxian and Darwinian Points of View. Galion, Ohio: Bradford-Brown Educational Company.Google Scholar
Bullock, R. W. 1927 In Spite of Handicaps. New York: Association Press.Google Scholar
Bunting, B. 1975 Moses Kotane, South African Revolutionary. London: Inkululeko.Google Scholar
Butler, J., Elphick, R. and Welsh, D. eds. 1987 Democratic Liberalism in South Africa: Its History and Prospect. Middletown, CT; Wesleyan University Press.Google Scholar
Carter, G. M. and Karis, T. eds. 1977 From Protest to Challenge, A Documentary History of African Politics in South Africa, 1882-1964. Volume 4: Political Profiles, 1882-1964. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press.Google Scholar
Couzens, T. J. 1982 “‘Moralizing Leisure Time’: The Transatlantic Connection and Black Johannesburg, 1918-1936.” In Industrialisation and Social Change in South Africa: African Class Formation, Culture and Consciousness, 1870-1930, edited by Marks, S. and Rathbone, R., 314–337. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Crow, J. J. and Hatley, F. eds. 1984 Black Americans in North Carolina and the South. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Current Biography. 1948 New York: Wilson, H. H. Google Scholar
Drake, J. G. 1970 The Redemption of Africa and Black Religion. Chicago: Third World Press.Google Scholar
Duberman, M. B. 1988 Paul Robeson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.Google Scholar
Du Bois, W. E. B. 1971 Dusk of Dawn: An Autobiography of a Race Concept. New York: Schocken.Google Scholar
Dunbar, E. ed. The Black Expatriates: A Study of American Negroes in Exile. New York: Dutton.Google Scholar
Faison, M.L. 1982 “Max Yergan: The South African Years, 1921-1936.” Seminar Paper, Institute of African Studies, Columbia University. Copy provided by the author.Google Scholar
Forman, J. 1981 Self-Determination and the African-American People. Washington: Open Hand.Google Scholar
Frazier, E. F. Papers. Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard University.Google Scholar
Freeman, E. A. 1980 The Epoch of Negro Baptists and the Foreign Mission Board. New York: Arno Press.Google Scholar
Freeman, F. 1852 Africa's Redemption, The Salvation of Our Country. New York: D. Fanshaw.Google Scholar
Geiss, I. 1974 The Pan African Movement: A History of Pan-Africanism in America, Europe and Africa. Translated from the German by Ann Keep. New York: Africana Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Groves, C. P. 1958 The Planting of Christianity in Africa: Volume 4, 1914-1954. London: Lutterworth.Google Scholar
Haynes, G. E. 1930 “The History, Aims and Policies of the Student Christan Association Among Bantu.” In Haynes, , “Report of the YMCA in Africa” unpublished typescript. Copy supplied to author by R. Edgar.Google Scholar
Haywood, H. 1978 Black Bolshevik: The Autobiography of an Afro-American Communist. Chicago: Liberator Press.Google Scholar
Hirson, B. 1981 “Tuskegee, the Joint Councils and the All Africa Convention.” In Collected Seminar Papers, Volume 10, The Societies of Southern Africa in the 19th and 20th Centuries, 65-76. London: Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London.Google Scholar
Hopkins, E. H. 1951 History of the YMCA in North America. New York: Association Press.Google Scholar
Imvo Zabantsundu. 1922 28 03.Google Scholar
International Missionary Council Bulletin. 1922 5 01.Google Scholar
International Review of Missions. 1925 14: 3–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jacobs, S. M. ed. 1982 Black Americans and the Missionary Movement in Africa. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Johns, S. W. III. 1965 “Marxism-Leninism in a Multi-Racial Environment: The Origins and Early History of the Communist Party of South Africa, 1914-1932,” Ph.D. diss., Harvard University.Google Scholar
King, K. 1969 “Africa and the Southern States of the U.S.A.: Notes on J. H. Oldham and American Negro Education for Africans.” Journal of African History 10/4: 659–677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, K. J. 1969 “Africa-Related Material in Black American Colleges and the Phelps-Stokes Fund of New York.” African Historical Studies 2/2: 419–26.Google Scholar
King, K. J. 1970a “The American Negro as Missionary to East Africa: A Critical Aspect of African Evangelism.” African Historical Studies 3/1: 5–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
King, K. J. 1970b “James E. K. Aggrey: Collaborator, Nationalist, Pan African.” Canadian Journal of African Studies 3/3: 511–30.Google Scholar
Legassick, M. 1973 Class and Nationalism in South African Protest: The South African Communist Party and the ‘Native Republic’, 1928-34. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
‘Lerumo, A.’ [Harmel, Michael]. 1971 Fifty Fighting Years: The Communist Party of South Africa, 1921-1971. London: Inkululeko.Google Scholar
Lynch, H. R. 1967 Edward Wilmot Blyden: Pan Negro Patriot, 1832-1912. New York and London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Matthews, V. G. J. 1985 Personal correspondence to Anthony, 4 05.Google Scholar
Matthews, Z. K. and Wilson, M. 1981 Freedom for My People. Cape Town: David Philip.Google Scholar
Mayer, P. 1971 Townsmen or Tribesmen, 2nd ed.. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mayer, P. 1980 Black Villagers in an Industrial Society: Anthropological Perspectives on Labour Migration in South Africa. Cape Town: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
‘Meli, F.’ 1974 “Comintern Aid for Black Revolutionaries. African Communis 59 (Fourth Quarter): 97–109.Google Scholar
Mkhwanazi, T. 1987 “How A Schoolboy's Rage Turned Mbeki Toward Marxism.” Weekly Mail [Johannesburg] 13–19 11.Google Scholar
Mohapeloa, B. 1940 “African Women's Self-Help. The Work of the Home Improvement Associations.” South African Outlook 1 06: 95–98.Google Scholar
Mokgatle, N. 1975 The Autobiography of an Unknown South African. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Moorland, J. E. 1917 “The Young Men's Christian Association and the War.” The Crisis 15/2: 65–68.Google Scholar
Moses, W.C. 1978 Golden Age of Black Nationalism, 1850-1925. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Moton, R. R. Papers. Moorland Collection, Moorland-Spingarn Research, Howard UniversityGoogle Scholar
Naison, M. 1983 Communists in Harlem During The Depression. New York: Grove Press.Google Scholar
Nzula, A. T. 1928 “Letter to the Editor, South African Worker .” In South African Communists Speak: Documents from the History of the South African Communist Party, 1915-1980. London: Inkululeko, 1981.Google Scholar
Nzula, A. T., Potekhin, I. I. and Zusmanovitch, A. Z. 1979 In Forced Labour in Colonial Africa, edited by Cohen, R. London: Zed Press.Google Scholar
Ovington, Mary White. 1927 Portraits in Color. New York: Viking. Press.Google Scholar
Pagano, R. n.d.[ca. 1975] “Max Yergan, A Biography.” Typescript.Google Scholar
Pittsburgh Courier. 1933 1 04.Google Scholar
Phelps Stokes, Anson. Papers. Sterling Library. Yale University.Google Scholar
Rabinowitz, H. 1984 “A Comparative Perspective on Race Relations in Southern and Northern Cities, 1860-1900, with Special Emphasis on Raleigh.” In Black Americans in North Carolina and the South, edited by Crow, J. J. and Hatley, F. J., 137–159. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Redkey, E. S. 1970 Black Exodus: Black Nationalist and Back to Africa Movements, 1890-1910. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Redkey, E. S. ed. 1971 Respect Black: The Writings and Speeches of Henry McNeal Turner. New York: Ayer.Google Scholar
Rheinallt Jones, J. D. n.d. [ca. 1927] “Notes on a Memorandum by Max Yergan on the Proposed Institute of Social Research and Service (for Non-Europeans).” 1934 AD848/B3.11.1 SAIRR Collection, University of the Witwatersrand Library.Google Scholar
Rich, P. 1984 White Power and the Liberal Conscience: Racial Segregation and South African Liberalism. Johannesburg: Ravan.Google Scholar
Robeson, E. 1945 African Journey. New York: John Day.Google Scholar
Roux, E. 1944 Sidney Bunting: A Political Biography. Cape Town: African Bookman.Google Scholar
Roux, E. 1967 Time Longer Than Rope. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Roux, E. and Roux, W. 1970 Rebel Pity: The Life of Eddie Roux. London: Rex Collings.Google Scholar
Savage, D. C. and Munro, J. F. 1966 “Carrier Corps Recruitment in the British East Africa Protectorate.” Journal of African History 7/2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
“Secretary's Record.” Max Yergan File, YMCA Archives, New York.Google Scholar
Shepperson, G. and Price, T. 1987 Independent African: John Chilembwe and the Nyasaland Rising of 1915. Edinburgh: The University Press.Google Scholar
Simons, H. J. and R. E., 1969 Class and Colour in South Africa, 1850-1950. Harmondsworth: Penguin.Google Scholar
Smith, E. W. 1926 The Christian Mission in Africa: A Study Based on the Work of the International Conference at Le Zoute, Belgium, September 14th to 21st, 1926. New York and London: International Missionary Council.Google Scholar
South African Council of YMCAs 1984 “Overview of the History of the YMCA in South Africa.” Unpublished report in possession of the author.Google Scholar
Tabata, I. B. 1977 Interview with author, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Spring, 1977.Google Scholar
Tsotsi, W. M. 1981 From Chattel to Wage Slavery: A New Approach to South African History. Maseru: Lesotho Printing and Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Tsotsi, W. M. 1987 Interviews, October-November, Maseru, Lesotho.Google Scholar
Walters, A. 1917 My Life and Work. New York: Fleming H. Revell Co.Google Scholar
Webster, C. R. 1917 “Reports to Foreign Secretaries for the Year Ending September 30, 1917.” 2: 938, YMCA Archives, New York.Google Scholar
Wilkens, M., Mofokeng, M., and Mhlanga, M. n.d. “Women's Organizations in Lesotho.” Maseru: Swedish International Development Authority.Google Scholar
Williams, W. L. 1982 Black Americans and the Evangelization of Africa, 1877-1900. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1918 “A YMCA Secretary in Africa.” The Southern Workman 47/8 (08): 401–403.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1923 “The Native Students of South Africa and Their Problems.” The Student World 62 (04): 62–7.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1927a “Race Currents and Conditions in South Africa, Part One.” The Southern Workman 56/3 (03): 109–112.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1927b “Race Currents and Conditions in South Africa, Part Two.” The Southern Workman 56/5 (05): 209–212.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1927c “General Statement in Support of the Request for the Building in Connection with the work of Max Yergan in South Africa.” Appended to Yergan to Keppel, 23 11 1927.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1928a Africa, The West and Christianity.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1929 “African Youth of Tomorrow.” Missionary Review of the World. (03): 187–95.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1938 Gold and Poverty in South Africa. A Study of Economic Organization and Standards of Living. The Hague and New York: International Industrial relations Institute.Google Scholar
Yergan, M. 1939 “The Status of the Natives in South Africa.” Journal of Negro History 24 (01): 44–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yergan, M. n.d. [1928?] “The Students Christian Association of South Africa (Native Department) from Material supplied by Rev. Max Yergan, Secretary.” In Christianity and the Natives of South Africa: A Yearbook of South African Missions. Cory Library for Historical Research, Rhodes University Library, Grahamstown, South Africa.Google Scholar
Yergan, S. W. 1933 “The Unity-Home Makers' Club. African Women's Self-Help Effort.” South African Outlook 1 (04): 78–79.Google Scholar