M.T. MOERANE

Far too long you and I, in facing the problems of this country, have unwittingly allowed ourselves merely to react to the ripples of currents that other people have set in motion. What is more, we have even allowed the mode of our reaction to be determined by the initiative and example of others. Today I should like us to be positively original and reinforce that tendency in the African world today, of seeking to find an answer to the problems of this country ourselves. Do not misunderstand me; far be it from me to suggest that the decline of originality is a monopoly of the African teacher; far from it; essentially this lack is characteristic of the modern world. Few real contributions have been made in the modern world. Few real contributions have been made in the modern era, particularly in the field of human relations. . . I want to suggest that we have sought for freedom in the wrong direction. A man is free in his mind and soul long before he is politically free. On the other hand thousands of men and women who have political rights are in no real sense free.

- M.T. Moerane, "Federal Council of African Teacher's Association Conference", Indian Opinion, January 14 and 21, 1955.