Percy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza (17 January 1938 – 17 January 1988) was an influential

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n journalist, author, and outspoken critic of the

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 ...

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in South Africa during the early periods of world recognition of the problems evident in the racially divided land. His eloquent

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

s did much to challenge white South Africans who were shielded from the horrors of apartheid as experienced by millions of black South Africans at the hands of the minority government.

Early life

Born in the black

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

Sophiatown Sophiatown , also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a poor multi-racial area and a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid. It produced some of South Africa's most famous writ ...

to a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

family, he experienced the harsh realities of oppression and discrimination in his homeland when the entire

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

was destroyed in 1952 in an

cleansing of the area. Many of the residents were packed up and carted off in open trucks. He later used this and many other experiences to excel at

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

University where he earned a degree in

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, but later returned home to complete studies in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

Career as an editor

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

of '' The World'' newspaper in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

from 1974 until the late 1970s, he gave the world a unique and powerful view of the Soweto riots which broke out on 16 June 1976. Under Qoboza, ''The World'' became a much sought-after publication. As a source of news and information on the black political front, it was gospel; to the government, it was seen as the enemy. His editorial column "Percy's Pitch" was highly anticipated. Under his direction, ''The Worlds circulation increased to become the most read newspaper by blacks in the country. This allowed views to be shaped during the period when many young black radicals where formed and saw the need for change immediately. This powerful voice was seen as a threat to the minority government and many attacks and threats were made against Qoboza and his family. Finally on 19 October 1977, ''The World'' offices were closed and the paper was banned. Qoboza and scores of others were thrown into jail for 6 months without trial. His family had no way to communicate with him and had no way to know if he was alive. When he was released, he was eventually told to leave the country. He was invited to the

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and he traveled to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and worked with the

Washington Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the ''Washington'' ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday ...

in 1980. He was returning to the United States after he was initially nominated as South Africa's Nieman Fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in September 1975. The time he spent in

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would continue to shape his voice and allow him to build strong bridges with journalists from all over the world. He returned to South Africa and became the editor of City Press in 1984. Again his sharp style gave a strong, passionate voice to the ongoing struggle to end oppression. He failed to see the end of his life's work having died in 1988 on his 50th birthday, after suffering a heart attack on Christmas Day in 1987 and slipping into a coma. His funeral was attended by over 5000 mourners including many of the leaders of the struggle in South Africa (including

Winnie Mandela Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela (born Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe Madikizela; 26 September 1936 – 2 April 2018), also known as Winnie Mandela, was a South African politician and anti-apartheid activist, second wife of Nelson Mandela. During ...

and

Nthato Motlana Dr. Nthato Harrison Motlana Order for Meritorious Service, OMSG (16 February 1925 – 1 December 2008) was a prominent South African businessman, physician and anti-apartheid activist. Early life He was born in Marapyane close to Pretoria. He ...

, the United States

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

Edward Perkins, and press from around the world. In 2000, Qoboza was named as one of the

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...

's 50

World Press Freedom Heroes International Press Institute World Press Freedom Heroes are individuals who have been recognized by the Vienna-based International Press Institute for "significant contributions to the maintenance of press freedom and freedom of expression" and " ...

of the past 50 years.

Percy Qoboza Award

The

National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...

in the United States awards an annual honor to the journalist who best exemplifies the spirit of Qoboza. According to their website, the prize is " arded to a foreign journalist who has done extraordinary work while overcoming tremendous obstacles that contributes to the enrichment, understanding or advancement of people or issues in the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

. The honor is not open to journalists working for American-based publications."

Winners

*2024 – Roberson Alphonse, ''Le Nouvelliste'', Haiti *2023 – Marcus Ryder, Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity *2022 – Nima Elbagir, CNN *2021 – Anas Aremeyaw Anas, Insight TWI *2020 – Mahmoud Hussein, Al Jazeera *2019 –

Pap Saine Pap Saine is a Gambian editor and publisher of the English-language independent newspaper, '' The Point''. In 2010, the International Press Institute named him a World Press Freedom Hero for his work. Work with ''The Point'' On 16 December 199 ...

, The Point *2018 – Chika Oduah, Voice of America *2017 – Wesley Gibbings *2011 – Jean-Claude Kavumbagu, Net Press *2008 – Imprisoned Journalists of Eritrea *2007 – National Union of Somali Journalists *2006 – Deyda Hydara, & Members of the Gambian Press Union (Posthumous) *2005 – Michele Montas, Haiti *2004 – Pius Njawe, Cameroon *2003 – Geoffrey Nyarota, ''The Daily News'', Zimbabwe *2002 – Milkias Mihreteab Yohannes, Eritrea *2000 – Rafael Marques, Angola *1999 – Fred Mmembe, ''The Post'', Zambia *1997 – Marie-Roger Biloa, Africa International magazine, Paris *1996 – Babacar Fall, Pan-African News Agency, Senegal *1995 – Kenneth Best, ''The Daily Observer'', Liberia *1994 – Zubeida Jaffer, ''Cape Town'', South Africa *1989 – Zwelake Sisulu, ''New Nation'', South Africa

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20010523174122/http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/99-4_00-1NR/Pather_In_Memoriam.html * http://www.nabj.org/awards/honors/index.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Qoboza, Percy 1938 births 1988 deaths People from Johannesburg Xhosa people South African anti-apartheid activists Nieman Fellows South African newspaper editors 20th-century South African journalists