John Langalibalele Dube: Bringing Oberlin to South Africa

John Langalibalele Dube: Bringing Oberlin to South Africa

Oberlin College has educated many important and influential people over the years. Among those is John Langalibalele Dube, a trailblazing figure in South African history. Dube’s transformative journey began at Oberlin, where he embarked on a remarkable educational experience that would shape the course of his life and impact the struggle for equality in his homeland. As a young student at Oberlin College in the late 19th century, Dube immersed himself in a progressive environment that nurtured his intellectual growth and instilled within him a fervent commitment to social justice. This pivotal phase of his life at Oberlin laid the foundation for his future endeavors as a political leader, educator, and writer, making him a significant figure in both American and South African history.

John Langalibalele Dube was born February 2, 1871 in Inanda, Natal, South Africa. He was born at the local American Zulu Mission (AZM) station to his parents, Elizabeth Dube and Reverend James Dube. Dube’s family had converted to christianity since Dube’s grandmother, Dalitah, converted in 1840 and James Dube continued with becoming one of the first ordained African pastors of the AZM. The conversion of the Dube family was not received well by the members of Dube’s community, especially since James Dube was seen as a leader of the community. This anger was directed towards Dube’s grandmother as “she had allowed him to come in contact with this new religion and be drawn away from the practices of his people.” The outrage got so bad that Dalitah had to hide as many people were trying to assassinate her. Dube was raised completely Christian and was later allowed to attend Adams College because of it.

Adams College was a christian missionary school located at the Inanda AZM station. Dube attended the school while his father was serving as a congregational  minister. These programs were run by a man named Herbert D. Goodenough, a missionary who attended Oberlin College. One day Dube got into a fight at school– Dube said that the other kid started it and refused to apologize. Goodenough decided to call upon his old Oberlin classmate and fellow missionary, William Wilcox, to talk to Dube. Wilcox was highly involved with the AZM and even made a whole “faith plan” to christianize and teach industrial skills to africans. Since Dube wouldn’t apologize, Wilcox talked to him about how forgiveness was one of the core principles of Christianity. Wilcox read Dube a passage from Matthew 5, 23 – 24: “if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.” Dube heeded Wilcox’s words and it resulted in a revelation that further strengthened his Christianity. Dube became good friends with Wilcox and it gave him the opportunity of a lifetime. When Wilcox decided to take his family back to the U.S, Dube asked if he could come along. Wilcox decided to bring Dube over for a fee. Dube’s mom suggested that he be sent to Hampton Institute in Virginia but Dube was bent on going to Oberlin, where Wilcox went. Dube said he got the money for the fee by working in the mines but other sources say his mother gave him the money. In 1887, with only 30 sovereigns and a passion for learning, Dube went to Oberlin, Ohio to further his education and experience a new country and way of life.

Upon arriving at Oberlin, Wilcox informed Dube that he would have to work to pay for his education. From 1887 to 1888 Dube would work job after job, some tiresome, some tedious, Dube even worked in a road gang with such rigorous work that he was sick the next day. But after all of that work, at 16 years old, Dube had enough money to enroll himself into the Oberlin Preparatory Academy. He studied science, math, greek classics, and oratorical skills. He also worked in a printing firm which helped him gain the skills to edit and publish. Dube would never get a degree from Oberlin but he gained skills and experience that were imperative to his efforts in South Africa.

Wilcox left Oberlin shortly after taking Dube there as he became the pastor of a Congregational church in Keene Valley, New York in 1888. In the same year, Wilcox invited Dube over for a visit and to print some pamphlets for him because he knew of his printing skills. The pamphlets “stressed Wilcox’s belief that industrial education, courses in trades and agriculture offered at Hampton Institute, and the ways and means for self-help could uplift the natives of Africa.”These beliefs would rub off on Dube and would be reflected in his book A Talk Upon My Native Land published 1891.

Dube accompanied Wilcox while he was on a tour of lectures, and one day asked Wilcox if he could give a lecture. Wilcox obliged and gave Dube a time to do a mid-day lecture. After the lecture an “influential lady was interested in him and got him dates for lectures…”. Dube would give many more lectures until 1892, when he had to go home due to chronic illness. Upon returning to South Africa, Dube taught at his former high school in Amanzimtoti. It was there where Dube would meet his future wife, Nokutela Mdima. From 1894 to 1896, Dube and Wilcox worked together to christianize a small village in south Africa called Incawadi. They built a day school and two churches. Around this time Dube realized that the best course of action was to build a much larger industrial school based on his and William Wilcox’s idea. In 1897 Dube returned to the United States with his wife to acquire the capital necessary to realize his vision.

Dube and his wife went to Brooklyn Heights, New York where “he was ordained in the Congregational ministry at the Lewis Avenue Church located in the Bedford Stuyvesant area.” While he was living in Brooklyn he attended lectures by Booker T. Washington. Washington was an important African-American educator and leader who founded the Tuskegee Institute and advocated for vocational training and economic empowerment as a path to racial equality. His ideas and books, like “Up from Slavery,” had a lasting impact on American society. The teachings of Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute had a major impact on the creation of Dube’s school. Dube even visited the Tuskegee Institute and met Washington in person, and later gave a commencement speech at the Tuskegee institute on May 27, 1897. After raising enough money, Dube went back home to South Africa to begin his project.

 Heavily inspired by Oberlin and the Tuskegee Institute, Dube Created The Zulu Christian Industrial School in 1901 which would later be renamed to the Ohlange Institute. The school was built by Dube and the future students of the school. Many native South Africans and black people from America and the West Indies taught at the school. The focus of the Ohlange Institute was to teach useful and obtainable skills to a marginalized public. Oberlin College’s motto was Learning and Labor– Dube drew upon the theme with labor focused education and teaching of industrial skills. As the Ohlange Institute grew in popularity, funding, and student body size, more departments and subjects were added. A humanities and science department was added a little later on. Dube pushed what was allowed under the apartheid government of South Africa and created a successful place for marginalized South Africans to learn useful skills.

Dube was often criticized because while this did help many native African people in South Africa, it wasn’t fighting the system of apartheid itself. Dube often struggled with his christianity having opposing interests with his Zulu heritage as many saw christianity as a colonizers’ religion. Not only did Dube encounter much external conflict about him and his family’s religion, he experienced much internal conflict as well. Despite being a christian, a religion foreign of South Africa itself, Dube allowed people of all religions and ethnic backgrounds in his school. This is a big part of the reason why the school grew as big and as fast as it did.

Dube did much more for indigenous South African people than just the Ohlange Institute.  Dube, along with his wife Nokutela Dube, co-founded Ilanga lase Natal, the first ever newspaper to be published in the Zulu language. Dube edited and contributed to the paper under different pseudonyms and gave aspiring Zulu journalists opportunities to make their mark in the up and coming field of Zulu journalism and literature. But that doesn’t come close to arguably the greatest thing that Dube had been a part of. After the Anglo-Boer War, the union of South Africa was created at the expense of natives and their rights. In response to this Dube was elected the founding president of a South African native political party called the South African Native National Congress (SANNC). This political party is one of the most important parties, if not the most important, in South African history. After hearing the grievances of other oppressed groups in South Africa, SANNC wanted to become more of a united front for all marginalized people. In 1923 SANNC turned into the African National Congress (ANC),  the party that was spearheaded by Nelson Mandela and actively fought against and subsequently defeated the apartheid regime.

Dube stepped down as president of SANNC in 1917 and went on to do other things. Dube published a few books in his free time, one called The Black People and From Whence They Came published in 1922, Shaka’s Body Servant in 1930, and a short essay called A man is his own worst enemy in 1936 which earned him an honorary doctorate of philosophy. Dube continued to lecture in his own school, around South Africa, and even took trips back to the united states to speak and gain more donors for The Ohlange institute. Nokutela Dube died in 1917 and Dube remarried to a woman named Angelina Dube, 11 years later, in 1928. Dube never had children with Nokutela but had six children with Angelina. Eventually, John Dube passed away in 1946 and left behind a legacy that many including his own students would uphold and continue to fight for.

John Langalibalele Dube’s journey from the halls of Oberlin College to his pivotal role in South African history stands as a testament to the transformative power of education and the indomitable spirit of an individual dedicated to justice and equality. Dube’s time at Oberlin College and his association with Oberlin graduates strengthened his intellectual foundation, progressive ideals, and unwavering determination necessary to challenge the status quo and ignite change. Through his leadership in the African National Congress, his pioneering efforts in education, and his influential writings, Dube left a positive mark on South African society, propelling the struggle against racial discrimination and paving the way for a more inclusive and equitable future. John Langalibalele Dube’s legacy continues to inspire generations, reminding us of the power of education, activism, and the relentless pursuit of a just society.

Written in 2023 by Myles Riggins, Oberlin Heritage Center Junior Intern.

 

Bibliography

•       [1] “175th Anniversary of Oberlin College and the City of Oberlin: 1833 – 2008.” Oberlin College, www2.oberlin.edu/175/didyouknow-dube.html. Accessed 30 June 2023.
•       [2] “John L. Dube a Biographical Sketch.” Dube Biography, www2.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/Dube/Dube.htm. Accessed 30 June 2023.
•       [3] “John Langalibalele Dube Timeline 1940-1950.” South African History Online, www.sahistory.org.za/article/john-langalibalele-dube-timeline-1940-1950. Accessed 12 July 2023.
•       Kieta, Cherif, director. Oberlin-Inanda: The Life and Times of John L. Dube. Mogoya Productions, 2004.
•       Hughes, Heather. First President: A Life of John Dube, Founding President of the ANC. Jacana Media, 2011.
•       “John L. Dube: A South African Exponent of Booker T. Washington.” By R. Hunt Davis Jr. Journal of African Studies, Winter 1975; 2, 4