by Donald Neumann
It is with a heart that we convey to you the passing of educationist and community activist Allan Liebenberg on Saturday after a short battle with cancer.
Allan grew up with humble beginnings in the suburb of Lansdowne and attended Livingstone High School, but his potential was evident for all to see at the tender age of 13 and he garnered the respect of his teachers and peers.
Allan attributed his political awakening to the killing of Imam Abdullah Haron in 1969. The killing of the Imam at the behest of the apartheid government while in detention had a profound influence on him.
He soon rose to become the chairperson of the Student Representative Council at Livingstone and led many student demonstrations and boycotts against the oppressive apartheid regime of the time.
While in high school, Allan was routinely harassed by the security police at home and school; he would regularly receive lashes from the security police at school and be detained.
After matriculating, Allan enrolled to study education at the University of the Western Cape; it is here where he came into his own and was elected chairperson of the SRC in his first year of studies.
Allan, with his comrades such as Mackie Kleinschmidt, Ben Palmer Louw and George Webster, while under constant police surveillance and harassment, stood steadfast in their principles of non-racialism. During this period, Allan was detained more than 10 times for his belief in a free and equal South Africa.
After graduating from UWC, Allan obtained his first teaching post at Parkwood High School; because of this political belief and active involvement in the struggle, Allan was routinely dismissed by the Department of Coloured Affairs and detained by the Government. This was a regular routine for Allan, “dismissal & detention” until 1990.
While teaching and involved in his political activities, Allan completed his Master’s degree in education, specialising in assessment. Allan became principal of Crestway High School in the late ‘90s, continued with his activism, and started the Western Cape Governing Body Association, which served predominantly marginalised schools.
Throughout his teaching career, Allan remained committed to the holistic development of the child and served at various levels of the Western Province Senior Schools Sports Union.
The progressive world has lost a principled revolutionary in Allan, who fearlessly fought for the weak and most vulnerable in society. He was an intellectual giant who stood his own against the greatest minds this world has produced.
His actions and ideals represent the power and will of the people and of the power of people in solidarity.
Allan has left an indelible mark in the struggle for a just and equal education system and society. Hamba Kahle Comrade Allan Hamba Kahle my friend Hamba Kahle my mentor Hamba Kahle to the radical and progressive thinker Allan Liebenberg.
* Donald Neumann, Grassy Park.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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