Pixley Ka Seme
| Pixley ka Isaka Seme | |
|---|---|
Pixley ka Isaka Seme in 1906
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In office 1930–1936 |
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| Preceded by | J. T. Gumede |
| Succeeded by | Z. R. Mahabane |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1 October 1881 Daggakraal, Colony of Natal |
| Died | 7 June 1951 |
| Nationality | South Africa |
| Political party | African National Congress |
| Alma mater | Jesus College, Oxford |
| Occupation | Attorney |
Pixley ka Isaka Seme (c. 1881 – June 1951) was one of the first black lawyers in South Africa (Alfred Mangena was the first black attorney, Duma Nokwe the first black advocate), and a founder and President of the African National Congress.
Seme was born in the area that would come to be known as Daggakraal, in what was then called the Colony of Natal, at the Inanda mission station of the American Zulu Mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He graduated from Mount Hermon School, MA, in 1902 (now the Northfield Mount Hermon School). He attended Adams College which was part of the mission.
His mother was a sister of John Langalibalele Dube, and descended from a local chief. At 17 years of age Seme left to study in the U.S., first at the Mount Hermon School and then Columbia University. In 1906, his senior year at University, he was awarded the Curtis Medal, Columbia's highest oratorical honor. He subsequently decided to become an attorney. In October 1906 he was admitted to Oxford University to read for the degree of Bachelor of Civil Law; while at Oxford he was a member of Jesus College.
Seme returned to South Africa in 1910, and began to practice as a lawyer in Johannesburg.
In 1911, Seme established the South African Native Farmers Association in order to encourage black farm workers to buy land in the Daggakraal area, and thus attain personal independence. Consequently, this led the white government to enact the Natives Land Act of 1913, barring black people from owning land in South Africa.
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