Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu was a South African educationist and politician, and a founder of the All African Convention, which sought to unite all non-European opposition to the segregationist measure of the South African government.
Background
Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu was born on October 20, 1885 in King William's Town, Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. He was the eldest son of political activist and pioneering newspaper editor John Tengo Jabavu, and the father of Noni Jabavu, one of the first African female writers and journalists.
Education
South Africa was educated at Morija Institution, a mission centre in Basutoland (present-day Lesotho). He later studied at Lovedale in the Cape Province before going to the United Kingdom, where he completed his matriculation at Colwyn Bay in Wales. In 1906 he entered the University of London, earning a BA degree in English six years later. As a student he attended the 1911 Universal Races Congress held in London.
Career
Davidson was a founding member of the staff of the University of Fort Hare in 1916, and the first and only African academic at the institution, where he remained as professor of African languages until 1944.
In addition, he established the South African Native Farmers' Association to encourage the development of better farming standards, stressing the value of manual labour. He also founded the Cape African Teachers' Association and the South African Native Teachers' Federation, which he led for many years. He was also president of the Cape Native Votes' Convention, which campaigned in the 1920 and 1930 for the retention of Africans' voting rights.
In later years, he ran a private insurance business. He also wrote articles and books on the African struggle, including The Black Problem, The Segregation Fallacy and Other Papers, The Life of John Tengo Jabavu, editor of Imvo Zabantsundu and IziDungulwana.
On September 2, 1916, Davidson married Florence Nolwandle Tandiswa, and they gave birth to the three children: Helen Nontan-o, Alexandra Nothemba, and Tengo Max.