Judy Chalmers a story of courage and justice —
With Nelson Mandela Bay’s Judy Chalmers recently celebrating her 90th birthday, her family and friends honoured an amazing woman and a memorable legacy well-lived.
Here is some of what was shared: “Mum’s unwavering inner strength is the essence of who she is”; “she endured some real hardships in her time”; “her passion is her family... and she’s the glue which binds us”; “her sense of humour and compassion”; “she has the best imagination — she wrote a children’s book The Battle of the Mountain which I devoured, sitting next to her, reading each page as it came off the typewriter”.
Also: “Our mum is a lot of fun; she enjoys skipping stones across the water — she is consistently the champion at this pursuit”; “adept at building cairns on every stony creek or beach; up for every challenge that comes her way”.
“Her formidable intellect leads to many interesting debates... shared interest in literature, art, music and nature...”
Some mentioned her transparency and “absolute integrity”, and having “fun playing snooker together”, while another spoke of a “five-star friend who brightens my day... living next door to Judy, with morning chats over our wall”.
Judy Chalmers attributes her “dominating characteristic of curiosity” to her father, who instilled in her a love of reading, which continues today, covering a wide range of interests.
Her parents were politically active and encouraged her, with her sister and brother, to respond to inequality and the plight of the voiceless around them.
Thus, as a mother to three daughters (now six-times grandmother and great-grandmother to five), Judy’s motherly generosity extended to many in the Eastern Cape rural areas, where she served in her capacity as Black Sash chair and later as field worker in the Advice Office, principally monitoring and reporting on human rights abuses.
The Black Sash was founded in 1955 by six middle-class white women.
I asked Judy about her older sister, Molly Blackburn.
“As kids we were very different,” Judy said.
“She was very social and extrovert.
“I was a bookworm, rode horses, more introvert... until we were adults.
“Then we became huge friends and shared the same value system, and passion for justice and human rights.
“That sounds corny, but it is what drove us... it was what I fought for, and what Molly died for.”
In 1985, 15,000 people gathered for Molly’s funeral in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), mourning her death in a tragic head-on collision while returning with Judy and two fellow activists from a meeting in Oudtshoorn.
Mourners celebrated the life of a remarkable woman who never gave up the struggle for her people, themselves desperate for freedom.
Earlier this year, Molly was one of 32 who received from President Cyril Ramaphosa the highest accolade the country can bestow on its citizens.
The Order of Luthuli recognises “eminent scholars, liberation fighters and activists who risked their lives to intensify the voice of the oppressed during apartheid”.
The order in silver was posthumously bestowed on Molly.
Continual predator-like harassment from the security police did not daunt Judy’s courage and her commitment to the people she served in the Eastern Cape.
Security police caused a devastating fire at the Black Sash’s Port Elizabeth offices in the 1980s, and the ruthless destruction of husband Des’s well-established paint business, because he employed local struggle heroes.
Neither slashed tyres nor tapped phones could deter her, Molly or their activist friends.
At the groundswell of our rainbow nation in 1994, Judy entered parliament as an ANC MP.
Number nine on the ANC list, she committed herself to serving women, the youth, the disabled, health and the environment for 15 years.
She was SA’s representative on the International Whaling Commission for three years, travelling to Australia, the UK and Japan.
During her career, she travelled to all five continents.
Standing up and being counted alongside many of SA’s struggle heroes, Judy retired from public life in her late 70s.
But never will she sideline her uncompromising engagement with justice and human rights, a feature of her life’s journey, and never will her light be extinguished.
Judy received awards for her community work from the Union of Jewish Women and from Rotary (the Paul Harris Award).
While she was in parliament, she gave a keynote speech to the late Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
To quote from that speech: “Four words — justice, freedom, goodness and love — embody his spirit and psyche... These qualities melded into a man who combined extraordinary qualities of leadership together with a wonderful leavening of humanity and, time and again, a quickness of wit and humour that left his enemies literally dumbstruck”.
As Madiba’s friend and colleague, 90-year-old Judy exemplifies the traits for which she honoured him on his 90th birthday.
Madiba himself reminds us about his Robben Island years, during which “we fought injustice to preserve our own humanity”.
As Madiba’s friend and colleague, 90-year-old Judy exemplifies the traits for which she honoured him on his 90th birthday’