Tomorrow is the Fourth of July, the date on which Americans celebrate our nation’s independence.  Robert F. Kennedy once said, “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped.  Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope.”  The American revolutionaries certainly serve as support for this statement.  Without our forefathers’ courage to stand up for their own ideals, America as we know and enjoy it today might  not exist.  Our country’s all-volunteer armed forces protect and defend those same principles today and we salute their patriotism, professionalism, and commitment to serving our country.  Often, we lose track  that America’s precedence in its fight for independence and democracy  has served as encouragement for others around the world to  stand up for their ideals and force change even in the face of overwhelming odds and sacrifice.

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Alan Paton wrote Cry, the Beloved Country about his native country, South Africa, in 1946.  In the 60 plus years since, it has become a classic.  When I was an undergraduate at Duke in the 1970’s, this book was required reading in a class that I did not have to take.  In preparation for a trip to South Africa this month, I recently read it for the first time. The book creates a narrative about the sequence of events in the later life of Reverend Stephen Kumalo, a black, native South African who lives in Ndotsheni, Natal, an area of South Africa.  In Kumalo’s Natal, many residents have left for jobs in the mines or in Johannesburg.  As the population of the tribes has increased, the land given to them through various means has been insufficient to support the younger generations.  In fact, the land of South Africa is an engaging theme throughout the novel.  In Kumalo’s world, Johannesburg has grown into a major metropolis with all the benefits and detriments of a big city.  As the largest city in South Africa, it is on the front of the increasing conflicts between the governing and minority white population and the majority black African population.

The time, the people, and the events that Kumalo encounters on the trip comprise the richness of this book.  Kumalo leaves Natal for a trip to Johannesburg to find his sister, Gertrude.  He finds her only to discover that she is not physically sick but has become a prostitute and bootlegger.  He finds his brother, John, and discovers that he has become a leader of the black movement for freedom, while cautiously being more of an orator than an open law-breaker.  He finds his son, Absalom, after Absalom has been arrested for the murder of a prominent white engineer, Arthur Jarvis, who has been leading the national discussion about freeing the blacks.

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