What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mourned One
Did Ndatshana really rape his friend and co-teacher at the Mission School in Rhodesia? He sits in the condemned cell looking back on how his life has developed in a society full of racial prejudice.
The Mourned One concerns the rape of
a white woman by a black man and the ensuing trial.
The Mourned One concerns the rape of
a white woman by a black man and the ensuing trial.
150 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1975
7 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Stanlake Samkange
12 books10 followersStanlake John William Thompson Samkange (1922–1988) was a Zimbabwean historiographer, educationist, journalist, author, and African nationalist. He was a member of an elite Zimbabwean nationalist political dynasty and the most prolific of the first generation of black Zimbabwean creative writers in English.
Samkange was born in 1922 in Zvimba, Mashonaland West Province, in the British southern African colony of Rhodesia. He was the son of the Reverend Thompson Samkange, a Methodist minister and nationalist politician, and his wife, Grace Mano, a Methodist evangelist. The family lived in Bulawayo, Matabeleland and in Mashonaland during Samkange’s childhood. He took his higher education at Adams College in Natal, South Africa and the University of Fort Hare in Alice, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (the first institution of higher learning in Africa that was open to Africans).
He graduated with honors from Fort Hare in 1948 and returned to Rhodesia to become a teacher. While pursuing his teaching career he began to make plans for Nyatsime College, a secondary school to be controlled by blacks rather than government or missionaries. The school, which opened in 1962, provided academic, technical and commercial education for Africans. He was deeply involved in the liberal politics of Southern Rhodesia during the 1950s and 1960s, but became disillusioned when he realized that the white minority in Rhodesia would reject any multiracial options for government in the colony.
Samkange moved to the United States where he took further education at the Indiana University at Bloomington. After earning his Ph.D. from that institution, he worked as a journalist and then opened a public relations firm. He also taught African history at various universities in the U.S. and in 1978 he was professor of African American studies at Northeastern University, Boston.
Samkange was born in 1922 in Zvimba, Mashonaland West Province, in the British southern African colony of Rhodesia. He was the son of the Reverend Thompson Samkange, a Methodist minister and nationalist politician, and his wife, Grace Mano, a Methodist evangelist. The family lived in Bulawayo, Matabeleland and in Mashonaland during Samkange’s childhood. He took his higher education at Adams College in Natal, South Africa and the University of Fort Hare in Alice, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa (the first institution of higher learning in Africa that was open to Africans).
He graduated with honors from Fort Hare in 1948 and returned to Rhodesia to become a teacher. While pursuing his teaching career he began to make plans for Nyatsime College, a secondary school to be controlled by blacks rather than government or missionaries. The school, which opened in 1962, provided academic, technical and commercial education for Africans. He was deeply involved in the liberal politics of Southern Rhodesia during the 1950s and 1960s, but became disillusioned when he realized that the white minority in Rhodesia would reject any multiracial options for government in the colony.
Samkange moved to the United States where he took further education at the Indiana University at Bloomington. After earning his Ph.D. from that institution, he worked as a journalist and then opened a public relations firm. He also taught African history at various universities in the U.S. and in 1978 he was professor of African American studies at Northeastern University, Boston.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 3 reviews
December 9, 2023
Loved the writing in this book. Towards the middle for a moment I forgot what the story was leading up too maybe I am reading too much into it but it kind of reminded me how in this world as a black person no matter how much precaution you take and like the author mentioned how well educated and well mannered you are at the end of the day you always and simply be black first.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 3 reviews