Celebrating 40 Years of ‘Journey to Jo’burg’ by Beverley Naidoo

On Thursday 20th March 2025, Anti-Apartheid Legacy had the immense honour of hosting a very special event to mark 40 years since the publication of Beverley Naidoo’s iconic children’s novel, Journey to Jo’burg.

Beverley Naidoo and her ‘Journey to Jo’burg’

Beverley Naidoo, who was born and raised in Johannesburg during one of the most openly racist eras in global history, explained how she was educated in a whites-only school and brought up with a narrow view of the world—”like a horse with blinkers,” as she has described it. It was only after leaving school and meeting people who challenged those views that she began to see the injustice all around her. That awakening ignited her anger, her activism, and eventually her writing.

She began her writing career while living in exile in the UK, and when Journey to Jo’burg was published in 1985, it was immediately banned in South Africa. While thousands of children were reading the book around the world, South African children were denied access to it until 1991—the year after Nelson Mandela was released from prison. That censorship only motivated Beverley to write more.

Journey to Jo’burg is more than a story from the past. It remains a universal tale of courage, following two children, Naledi and Tiro, as they risk everything to find their mother and save their little sister in the face of immense injustice. The themes of inequality, family, bravery, and hope still resonate deeply today, which is why it continues to be studied and celebrated in schools across the world.

Beverley said that she was thrilled “going down memory lane about how and why I wrote Journey to Jo’burg today while signalling the importance of future journeys to fairness and justice. The book was conceived in Islington, in a flat just off Highbury Fields, so it was extra special to mark its fortieth anniversary with young learners from the borough.”

Beverley Naidoo explaining the coming into being of ‘Journey to Jo’burg’. Carmen Valino Photography.

20th March 2025, staff and students from 8 primary schools across Islington gathered in London Metropolitan Universty’s Great Hall. Carmen Valino Photography.

‘The Journey Matters’ – 20th March 2025

Held at London Metropolitan University, the event welcomed nearly 350 students from eight Islington primary schools—a fitting location, as Islington was where the book’s journey on paper first began.

Author and poet Michael Rosen, who wrote the foreword to the book’s classic edition, joined Beverley Naidoo on stage for a rich and personal conversation. He said:

“It was a very, very important book in its time when it came out and still is very important. What’s lovely is the way the book has lasted. I mean, this is a book that in it’s time had to struggle to come out – it was commissioned by a group of activists – and it’s now moved into the mainstream as we have some distance on apartheid South Africa. At the time, to be able to talk about apartheid South Africa was actually thought of as a rather dangerous idea, because it was accepted by our governments here in this country as the status quo. And Beverley’s book was right in the vanguard of saying, no, things must change.

These are the kinds of awful and terrible things that did and do happen. The book expresses hope and, through hope, and through people cooperating and helping each other, things might change. That’s what the book points towards. Now at a bit of a distance, we can see that’s exactly what happened. So in a way, Beverley, through her hoping, predicted.”

Joining them was writer and educator Darren Chetty, who shared insights into how Journey to Jo’burg has resonated with the students he teaches and how its themes continue to inspire important discussions around justice, identity, and solidarity in classrooms today.

As a young person of South African heritage growing up in Britain, Darren was deeply inspired by Beverley’s book—it was one of the first that truly reflected the reality of life under apartheid. He credits this revelation with shaping the direction of his work today, which focuses on representation in literature, among other themes.

The students had plenty of thoughtful and enthusiastic questions for Beverley, Michael, and Darren—some even arriving with carefully pre-prepared ones in hand. One particularly powerful moment came when Beverley led the children in an “echo-poem” performance of a piece she had written about the book. With nearly 350 young voices filling the hall and repeating the refrain “the words breathed freedom,” it’s safe to say the moment will echo in hearts and minds for a long time to come—just as it did in the Great Hall that afternoon.

Beverley Naidoo and Michael Rosen responding to students’ questions. Carmen Valino Photography.

Students taking part in the ‘echo poem’ led by Beverley Naidoo and Michael Rosen. Carmen Valino Photography.

Darren Chetty sharing insights on resonances from ‘Journey to Jo’burg’. Carmen Valino Photography.

Creative Showcase

A highlight of the day was the creative showcase, featuring responses from the pupils themselves—including writing, poetry and visual artwork inspired by the book. We were delighted to award four students from Newington Green Primary School with personalised copies of Journey to Jo’burg for their outstanding and imaginative work.

This event was more than a celebration of a book—it was a moment to honour the power of storytelling, to hear from authors who’ve dedicated their lives to justice through words, and to spotlight young voices who will shape the future.

Example student question. Carmen Valino Photography.

Beverley Naidoo reads winning prose piece, written in the style of ‘Journey to Jo’burg’, by Naema (Year 6), Newington Green Primary School. Videography, Speedwagon Productions. 

Michael Rosen reads winning poetry piece, written in response to ‘Journey to Jo’burg’, by Estavan (Year 6), Newington Green Primary School. Videography, Speedwagon Productions. 

Year 6 Students at Newington Green Primary School share their reflections on the book and its themes;

“I learnt that when life isn’t fair, people like to make a change. And that change can change a lot of the world” Imaani

“When people want to make a change they just have the power to do what they want to do and how they want to be ” Scout

“I recommend that lots of people read Journey to Jo’burg because it is a very good book and it teaches you a lot of things” Naema

“It could empower lots of people to do things that some are too afraid to do and you should never be afraid to do the right thing” Estavan

Year 6 students from Newington Green Primary School (Naema, Imaani, Scout and Estavan) explain what they learnt from reading ‘Journey to Jo’burg’. Videography, Speedwagon Productions.

Thank you

We are so grateful to London Metropolitan University—especially the London Met Lab team—for hosting us, and to the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Islington Council for their generous support in making this event possible.

Our thanks also to Milo Cumpstey at Speedwagon Productions and Carmen Valino of Carmen Valino Photography for recording this special event and so enabling us to share it with you.

We look forward to welcoming many of these students again at our upcoming Anti-Apartheid Legacy Museum, opening soon near Angel in Islington—just around the corner from where Journey to Jo’burg was first imagined.

Here’s to the next generation of readers, writers, and change-makers.