Jean Bernadt (née Alkin) (19 May 1914 – 9 April 2011) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. She was an active member of the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), the Congress of Democrats, the

Federation of South African Women The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was a political lobby group formed in 1954. At FEDSAW's inaugural conference, a Women's Charter was adopted. Its founding was spear-headed by Lillian Ngoyi. Introduction The Federation of South Afri ...

and the

Black Sash The Black Sash is a South African human rights organisation. It was founded in Johannesburg in 1955 as a non-violent resistance organisation for liberal white women. Origins The Black Sash was founded on 19 May 1955 by six middle-class white ...

among other institutions. In 1940 she married Himan (Himie) Bernadt and she had three children.

Education

1934 High School

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

1936

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

– studied

American Literature American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the British colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also ...

Activities

She was involved in a wide range of charity organisations, usually together with other women from the Black Sash and the Communist Party. She was a member of the Athlone Committee for Nursery Education. The Athlone Committee founded the first nursery school for Coloured children in Athlone in 1949 and also founded the

Maynardville Open-Air Theatre The Maynardville Open-Air Theater is an outdoor theatre in Maynardville Park, Wynberg, Cape Town, South Africa. It seats 720 people and is known for its annual Shakespeare in the Park plays. History Park grounds Before it was named Maynard ...

on 1 December 1950 as a charity fund-raiser for underprivileged areas. Her and Margaret Molteno (chair and founder of the Athlone Committee) joined up with the Blouvlei community leader Dora Tamana in 1954 to work on community projects in the Blouvlei informal settlement. As far back as 1948, Tamana had started a community creche at a private house, but it had stopped after two and half years because of a lack of funding. The three women raised funds and established the Blouvlei Nursery School and family health centre according to Tamana's plans in May 1955. She was under government banning orders from 1959 to 1964. Later she housed

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

during his negotiations with the Apartheid government. In 1960 she was arrested and spent three months in jail.

Commemoration

In 2008, Jean Bernadt and her husband were commemorated and awarded the

Order of Luthuli The Order of Luthuli is a South African honour. It was instituted on 30 November 2003 and is awarded by the President of South Africa for contributions to the struggle for democracy, human rights, nation-building, justice, or peace and conflict ...

in silver for opposing racism and defending the anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

activists.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernadt, Jean 1914 births 2011 deaths White South African anti-apartheid activists South African anti-apartheid activists Black Sash South African women civil rights activists South African civil rights activists

Education

Activities

Commemoration

See also

References