David Patrick Hamilton Russell was a South African Anglican bishop.
Education
Russell was educated at the University of Cape Town. He did his first degree at the University of Cape Town, and then studied for an Master of Arts at Oxford University. He later obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies (specialising in Christian Ethics) from the University of Cape Town.
Career
Ordained in 1965, he was a chaplain to migrant workers. From 1975 to 1986 he was banned and house arrested by the South African Apartheid Government. He was a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Street John"s (now the Diocese of Mthatha) from 1986 to 1987 and then Bishop of Grahamstown until 2004.
Having been born in the late 1930s, Russell got immersed in the struggle against apartheid from an early age.
He did his training for the priesthood at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield, England. His support assisted the Black Consciousness Movement in carrying out a number of projects, particularly those facilitated by the Black Community Programmes.
Among Russell’s many acts of defiance was when on 8 August 1977 he laid down in front of trucks and bulldozers to protest against forced removals from Modderdam in the Western Cape, an area declared “whites only”. He was forcibly dragged by police and arrested as an “enemy of the state”.
The apartheid regime served him with a five-year banning order in October 1977 restricting him to Cape Town.
Defying these banning orders, and found in possession of a book – Biko – by Donald Woods, he was sentenced in 1980 to a one year jail sentence. He denounced apartheid injustices and the arrests of anti-apartheid activists as vicious and pointed out that such kind of injustices filled people with “revulsion, bitterness and anger”. In recognition of his contribution to the liberation struggle and ongoing pursuit of social justice, Russell was nominated for a national order by the Foundation, and subsequently conferred with the Order of Baobab in Silver by President Jacob Zuma.
Russell contributed enormously to the South African liberation struggle and development at large.
He will always be remembered for his role in fighting apartheid, and the memory of his contributions will continue to inspire coming generations Bishop Russell was an ardent advocate of human rights and his concern for the rights of women was an important aspect of his ministry. Even in retirement he remained an outspoken advocate for inclusivity.
He was a staunch advocate for social justice and stood firmly on the side of the oppressed.
Membership
Later in life, Russell was a founding member of the Steve Biko Foundation’s Board of Trustees and served in this role from 1998 - 2009.