Richard van der ross biography of mahatma

Professor Richard (Dick) van der Ross, author, former teacher, anti-apartheid activist and Freeman of the City of Cape Town, died at Bergvliet Evergreen on Wednesday December 13.

He was 96.

In 2015, mayor Patricia de Lille hosted the launch of Professor Richard van der Ross’s book, In Our Own Skins (“Book launch,” Bulletin, May 28, 2015). In this academic offering, Professor Van der Ross details a political history of the coloured people.

As a teacher and principal of the Battswood Seconday School and Training College, during his involvement in teachers’ unions, and even as editor of the Cape Herald, he maintained the view that education afforded us all the greatest opportunity for change.

In September 1988, he was granted the Freedom of the City for serving the Cape community through education.

Ms De Lille has hailed Professor Van der Ross as “a great son of Cape Town who made an immense contribution to the city as a teacher and activist during apartheid”.

Professor Van der Ro