1921 – Birth of Ruth First, South African Anti-Apartheid Activist

Ruth First was born on June 8, 1921, in Johannesburg, South Africa. Though white by birth, she would become one of the most fearless allies of the Black anti-apartheid movement. As a journalist, academic, and member of the South African Communist Party, First exposed the brutality of apartheid and worked closely with liberation groups like the African National Congress (ANC). She married fellow activist Joe Slovo and was detained and banned multiple times due to her activism. In 1982, she was assassinated by a letter bomb in Mozambique, where she was working in exile. Her life stands as a powerful example of cross-racial solidarity in the global Black freedom struggle. Her birth on June 8 is a reminder of the price paid by allies in the pursuit of African liberation and the international dimensions of the anti-apartheid cause.