Sol. T. (Solomon Tshekisho) Plaatje

Born in 1876, Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje became one of the most important Black intellectuals of early modern South Africa. He worked as a journalist and interpreter, helped found the South African Native National Congress, later known as the African National Congress, and became widely known for speaking out against the 1913 Natives Land Act.

Plaatje is especially remembered for Native Life in South Africa, a powerful account of the damage caused by racial land laws, and for Mhudi, which is often described as the first novel in English by a Black South African writer. He also translated works by Shakespeare into Setswana, reflecting both his remarkable linguistic talent and his belief that literature should speak across cultures.

Alongside his political work, he left a lasting literary legacy as a novelist, essayist, translator, and recorder of South African life. His writing combines close observation with compassion, making it feel both historically important and deeply human.