Africa Thanks God - Charlotte Manye Maxeke

1872–1939

“Charlotte Maxeke was a stout lady with a striking face, with sharp penetrating eyes which could strike terror into those who crossed words with her and yet be gentle and kind to those who needed her sympathy.” So wrote one historian about one of the major figures in modern South African history. Before Nelson Mandela, before Desmond Tutu, there was Charlotte Maxeke, a Christian woman fighting for the rights of all Africans, and especially African women.

Her journey started in adolescence, as she and her younger sister sang in a choir that toured England—even singing for Queen Victoria. Another choir tour took her to Canada and the United States, where she made connections that landed her at Wilberforce University in Ohio. There she impressed her teachers, including the famed scholar W. E. B. Du Bois. She paved the way for other South African students, including her future husband, to attend Wilberforce. After graduation, the couple returned home as missionaries of the African Methodist Episcopal church.

There, Charlotte founded the Wilberforce Institute, which still exists as Wilberforce Community College, near Johannesburg. She was also elected president of the AME’s Women’s Missionary Society, which gave her a platform from which to speak out against the prejudicial treatment of blacks in South Africa, especially the pass laws that enforced segregation policies. She founded the Bantu Women’s League to work for women’s rights and to promote education for girls. Dr. Du Bois considered her “a pioneer in one of the greatest of human causes, working in extraordinarily difficult circumstances to lead a people, in the face of prejudice, not only against her race but against her sex.”

One African leader (A. B. Xuma) made this simple summation: “Africa thanks God for Charlotte.”

God loves justice. That seems to go without saying, but it’s remarkable how often supposedly “Christian” societies forget. Scripture overflows with commands to care for the needy, to seek justice for all, to extend God’s mercy. We need prophetic figures like Charlotte Maxeke to point out our errors and remind us of our obligations.

So look around you. Where do you see injustice? Who is being bullied, held down, kept from having a fair chance to succeed? And what does God ask you to do to help?

Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.

Isaiah 1:17