Abel Muzorewa ('62)
Born in 1925 in what is present-day Zimbabwe, Abel Muzorewa entered Central College (before it became Central Methodist University) in 1959. Already a lay Methodist minister, he continued his studies at Central to later become Zimbabwe’s first Black Methodist bishop and his nation’s first Black prime minister. In 1970, he received an honorary doctorate from Central in addition to his bachelor’s degree.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the nation of Zimbabwe was called Rhodesia, and was a holdover of British colonialism-- a white supremacist government in which the largely black, indigenous African population was legally and economically marginalized by a white, colonial minority. By 1964, the struggle for independence had boiled over into a civil war-- called the Chimurenga War, or Second Chimurenga -- that would last until the Lancaster House Agreement of 1979, in which a constitution for the current Republic of Zimbabwe was drafted.
In 1971, Muzorewa and Rev. Canaan Sodindo Banana formed the United African National Council to attempt to advocate non-violently for indigenous Zimbabwean independence. Through the course of this struggle, in 1978, Muzorewa became prime minister of the nascent Zimbabwe-Rhodesia, an attempt by the Rhodesian government to placate Zimbabwean freedom fighters with increased black, African, and indigenous representation in government. The venture was ultimately a failure, but did pave the way for the current, independent government of Zimbabwe.
While not an African American, Rev. Muzorewa and his family did encounter racism during their time in Fayette. In his autobiography, Rise Up and Walk, he also recounts the support and genuine friendship he encountered among his peers at Central.
Excerpt from Rise Up and Walk, p. 49-51:
”...Assured that my family would join me soon, I began my new studies at Central Methodist College in Fayette, Missouri...”When my family arrived in November, I959, it became a struggle to make ends meet financially. Fortunately, the college granted us a married student’s apartment, with space for a small garden where we grew vegetables and sweet corn to supplement our family budget, as we had learned to do in Africa. During the winter our classmates used to go rabbit hunting for sport. We were happy to get the rabbits which they sold to us for 25 cents each. Other friends helped us to buy our first car for the grand sum of $75. It was sixteen years old, and not always reliable, but neither was its learner-driver.
”Much as I wanted to spare my wife and sons the raw edge of racial discrimination, I could not. Unintentionally we joined the civil rights movement on our first Sunday together as a family, for twenty members walked out when we entered a white congregation to worship. Fortunately, the minister was prepared for this crisis in his church, and the majority of worshippers either tolerated us or accepted their presence among them.
”We soon learned that among Missouri towns Fayette rated low in racial justice. One day my sons, four and seven years old, innocently entered a drug store to buy ice cream cones, only to be thrown out! We learned as a family that, like all blacks, we were barred from parks and theatres and most public places in Fayette.
”...Life on the college campus, however, was far better than that outside it... Dr. Charles Caldwell, pastor of the college community church, invited me to be one of his student associates. The white students responded amicably to my pastoral work among them. Some would say, quite frankly, ’I wish I could take you to my home for a weekend, Abel, but I am afraid my parents will not accept you on racial grounds.’ Rather than being hurt by their remarks, I felt touched by their open honesty. Among this new generation were some who were determined to wipe out the ruthless racism in America to create a more Christian society."