The Colour Problems of South Africa

The Colour Problems of South Africa is a thoughtful and historically-important work by Edgar H. Brookes, originally the Phelps-Stokes lectures delivered at the University of Cape Town in 1933 and published by Lovedale Press in 1934. In approximately 237 pages, Brookes explores race relations in South Africa—addressing colonial, economic, social and religious dimensions of the “colour problem” as understood in the early twentieth century. The text provides both critique and reflection on segregation, native administration, Christian uplift and the intersection of policy and human dignity.

Brookes arranges his argument thematically: he begins with the historical origins of the colour question and Afrikaner-English-African identity tensions, moves into the economic implications of segregation, then examines the role of Christianity, education and policy in shaping inter-racial dynamics. The book also includes appendices listing statutes affecting native populations (1910-1932) and native church organisations, giving readers detailed reference material. It is intellectually rooted in liberal reformist thought of its era and offers a window into how race, class and governance were debated within South Africa’s socio-political framework.

Today, The Colour Problems of South Africa is a key work for historians of apartheid, scholars of race in southern Africa, and anyone interested in how early 20th-century intellectuals wrestled with complex social stratification. The 1934 Lovedale edition remains a document of its time—a combination of moral concern, academic inquiry and policy engagement.