MATT J. FREDERICKS

Matt Fredricks, general secretary of the APO, was editor of the newspaper, but Abdurahman's exercised the greatest influence on editorial content. As the pre-eminent APO leader, he dominated the organization for the entire 35 years of his presidency, from 1905 to his death in 1940. APO was produced largely by Fredricks, Abdurahman and a close circle of associates. Abdurahman wrote most of the editorials, and Fredricks was Abdurahman's closest collaborator within the APO. Fredricks had organized the "coup" that paved the way for Abdurahman's ascent to the presidency in 1905, when it appeared that rivalry between then president William Collins and vice-president John Tobin would tear the organization apart.

-Mohamed Adhikari, "Voice of the Colored Elite: APO, 1909-1923", in South Africa's Alternative Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960 (ed., Les Switzer, Cambridge University Press, 1997).