“The regeneration of Africa means that a new and unique civilization is soon to be added to the world.”
Pixley ka Isaka Seme (1882–1951)
Political Activist
BA 1906, LLD 1928
Seme and three colleagues laid a foundation of modern South Africa when they organized the South African Native National Congress in 1912. Renamed the African National Congress in 1923, the group has led the struggle for political, social, and economic rights for black South Africans. Seme was a major force in the Congress, serving as its first treasurer and as president-general from 1930 to 1936. He also launched its newspaper Abantu-Batho, the country’s first for black readers, and led the movement to buy land for black settlers.
Seme was the first black South African to graduate from Columbia University, earning his BA in 1906 along with the George William Curtis medal, the University’s highest oratorical honor. He later studied law at Oxford, and in 1928 received an LLD from Columbia.