Dr. Cherif Keita (Carleton College) presented “Renegade Missionary to Liberation Hero: Reverend William Cullen Wilcox in South Africa,” at Baraza on February 16. Dr. Keita discussed a project he has been working on for 18 years, which connects the stories of Reverend William Cullen Wilcox, Ida Belle Wilcox, John Dube, and Nokutela Dube. Dr. Keita became interested in this project in 1989, after visiting South Africa for the first time.
The story begins with the Revered William Cullen Wilcox and his wife, Ida Belle Wilcox, who were missionaries in the Natal Province of South Africa for 38 years before returning to the U.S. While in South Africa, the Reverend became an advocate for black South African rights. He saw the economic empowerment of black Africans as the first step towards Christian life. In 1910, Wilcox created the Zulu Industrial Improvement Company, which worked to provide land to black farmers. His activism eventually led to him having to flee the country in 1918.
John Dube and his wife, Nokutela, both grew up in the Natal province of South Africa where the Wilcox’s were teaching as a part of their mission work. Ida Belle and William Cullen Wilcox taught Nokutela and John Dube, respectively. Reverend Wilcox later facilitated John Dube’s movement to the U.S. for the advancement of his education in 1887. Dube went on to become the founding president of the African National Congress and an influential educator, publisher, and author in South Africa.
The lecture focused on how Wilcox’s legacy of activism still had an impact in South Africa today. Dr. Keita showed segments from one of the three films he created to tell the story of Wilcox and Dube. Through these films, Dr. Keita reconstructed Wilcox’s family history from South Africa to his own neighborhood in Minnesota, where Ida Belle’s parents were buried. Dr. Keita continued to unravel the story of the Wilcox family, eventually connecting with his living descendants who resided in California, where Wilcox died in 1928. Through the film project, Dr. Keita was able to bring Wilcox’s grandson and other family members back to South Africa to meet communities living on land purchased through the Zulu Industrial Improvement Company. William and Ida Wilcox were both posthumously honored with the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo in 2009 for their impact on South African human rights and nationalism.