J. B. Marks
Source: Wikipedia: J. B. Marks
Politics • Historical Archive • 🇿🇦 South Africa • 0 views

J. B. Marks 🇿🇦

John Beaver Marks (Known as "Uncle J.B.")
President of African Mineworkers' Union, Chairman of SACP, 1946 Strike Leader
Born 1903-03-21 🇿🇦 Ventersdorp, South Africa
Passed Away 1972-08-01 Moscow, Soviet Union
Lifespan 69 years old
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"The gold that makes Johannesburg wealthy is bought with the blood of African miners; we shall strike until we are free."

Archival Overview

Legendary trade union leader who organized over 70,000 gold miners in the historic 1946 African Mine Workers' Strike and served as National Chairman of the SACP.

Biographical Record

John Beaver Marks was born on March 21, 1903, in Ventersdorp, Transvaal, to an African father and white mother. Trained as a teacher, he was dismissed for political activism, joining the SACP and ANC in 1928.

In 1941, Marks became President of the African Mine Workers' Union (AMWU). In August 1946, he led the historic 1946 strike of over 70,000 African miners across the Witwatersrand gold fields, shutting down South Africa's primary economic engine in defiance of police machine guns. He served as Chairman of the SACP from 1962 and as an executive member of the ANC in exile, reinterred with military honours at Ventersdorp in 2015.

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Final Resting Place

Perpetual Memorial
Ventersdorp Heroes' Memorial
Ventersdorp, South Africa
GPS: -26.3167, 26.8167
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