| Birth date | 1943 |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Kensington, Cape Town, South Africa |
| Death date | 2022 |
| Death place | England |
| Citizenship | South African; British |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Anti-apartheid activism |
| Movement | Black Consciousness Movement |
| Years active | 1960s–2000s |
Lorna de Smidt (1943–2022) was a South African-born activist based in England.[1][2][3]
Biography
Lorna de Smidt was born in 1943 in Kensington, Cape Town to parents of mixed ancestry.[2][4] She was raised in Cape Town, South Africa.[2] At the age of four, she was admitted in a primary school, named Trafalgar High School.[4][2] She completed her graduation from Zonnebloem Teacher Training College in 1960 and subsequently became a teacher.[2][4]
Activism
In the 1960s, as a part of the Black Consciousness Movement, she became an anti-apartheid activist.[1] After emigrating to England in the 1970s, de Smidt joined the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group and helped organise the weekly protests outside South Africa House in Trafalgar Square.[5] She also worked with the International Defence and Aid Fund (IDAF), raising money for the legal defence of political prisoners and support for their families.[6]
Exile and career in English
After the Soweto riots of 1976 and her illegal marriage to a white man, she became a refugee in England and lived rest of her life there.[1][2] Between 1983 and 1991, de Smidt worked for the Lewisham Race Equality Unit.[4]
From 2000 to 2005, she worked on a restoration project of South Africa House, at the South African Embassy, London.[2]
Death
She died in England in 2022, aged 78–79.[7] Tributes from former colleagues in the Anti-Apartheid Movement noted her decades of work supporting political prisoners and their families.[7]
Documentaries
De Smidt appeared in and helped research two documentaries on apartheid-era South Africa. Suffer the Children (1988), directed by Peter Davis, examined the impact of apartheid on black children and schools.[8] She also featured in How I'd Love to Feel Free (1989), part of Channel 4’s South Africa Now series, which documented the work of anti-apartheid activists in exile.[9]
References
- ^ Smidt, Graham de (6 July 2022). "Lorna de Smidt obituary". the Guardian
- ^ Eyene, Christine (30 September 2006). "Lorna de Smidt: parcours d'une activiste sud-africaine, du Cap à Londres"
- ^ Lorna de Smidt and Christine Eyene, "I am here because you went there", Africultures, 2006/3 (n° 68), p. 101-103. doi:10.3917/afcul.068.0101. Cairn.info
- ^ "Remembering a local legend: Lorna de Smidt leaves behind legacy in anti-apartheid fight". www.dailyvoice.co.za
- ^ Brown, Julian (2008). The Road to Democracy in South Africa: Volume 3, International Solidarity. UNISA Press. p. 342. ISBN 978-1-86888-501-5.
- ^ "International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa archives". Archives Hub. University of Manchester. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ^ "Obituary: Lorna de Smidt, teacher and anti-apartheid campaigner". The Guardian. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2026.
- ^ Davis, Peter (1996). In Darkest Hollywood: Exploring the Jungles of Cinema's South Africa. Ravan Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-8214-1119-5.
- ^ "South Africa Now". BFI. British Film Institute. Retrieved 14 April 2026.