Ruth First Never Backed Down

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Ruth First's Story

Ruth First was born in South Africa, where her Jewish family fled from danger in Europe in the early 1900s. South Africa was a safe place for Jews, but not for Black people. Inspired by her parents’ example, a teenage Ruth started a secret book club with her friends to talk about inequality, but she knew she also had to speak out in public.

In college, she protested with other students, including Nelson Mandela, and wrote stories for the newspaper about racial injustice. Although she was arrested and forced to leave her country, she continued to speak out and write about the horrors of apartheid all her life. Ruth First never backed down.