In January 1957, a bus boycott under the slogan "Azikwelwa" (or "We shall not ride") was initiated by the people of Alexandra Township near Johannesburg to prevent the imposition of increased transportation costs. In the period 1950 - 1980, many such boycotts took place and the whole transport boycott movement is often linked to Apartheid resistance. Some have also identified it as a consumer and a political protest in a period when South African capitalism was entering in a phase of economic recession. For many, it was a demonstration of working-class solidarity which began with civil disobedience but evolved into a process of creation of a collective consciousness. Hence, the massive boycotts are said to have helped in the formation of South African identity.

James Matthews's short story "Azikwelwa" was first published in 1958. It was reprinted again in the year of the Mdantsane Bus Boycott (1974) in the collection The Park and...