Cold by dennis brutus

South African activist and writer (–)

Dennis Vincent Brutus (28 November &#;– 26 December ) was a South African activist, educator, journalist and poet best known for his campaign to have South Africa banned from the Olympic Games due to its racial policy of apartheid.^[1]

Life and work

Born in Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia in ^[2] to South African parents, Brutus was of indigenous Khoi, Dutch, French, English, German and Malay ancestry.

His parents moved back home to Port Elizabeth when he was aged four, and young Brutus was classified under South Africa's apartheid racial code as "coloured".^[3]

Brutus was a graduate of the University of Fort Hare (BA, ) and of the University of the Witwatersrand, where he studied law.

He taught English and Afrikaans at several high schools in South Africa after , but was eventually dismissed for his vocal criticism of apartheid.^[4] He served on the faculty of the University of Denver, N