The purple shall govern
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The purple shall govern was a slogan painted on the wall of the Old Town House overlooking Greenmarket Square in Cape Town, South Africa. It was an adaptation of protestors' placards bearing the cry of "The people shall govern" during an anti-apartheid protest which broke out in the city in September 1989. Attended by approximately 350 people of all races, the gathering of protestors and demonstrators were confronted by police brandishing a new water cannon that was filled with purple dye; this was in an attempt to stain the rioters for later identification and probable arresting.
Nat Tardrew, an art teacher at the Uluntu Art Centre in Guguletu at the time, was one of the leaders who climbed onto the water cannon and redirected its spray away from the bystanders. Buysile "Billy" Mandindi, a black artist who was caught in the ensuing melee and escaped, later created a lino cut etching which he entitled "Spirit of Freedom."
The protest — probably one of the last illegal activities before the African National Congress was unbanned in February 1990 — has been associated with Purple Rain, a popular song by Prince, as well as Purple Haze, a particular strain of cannabis.
The slogan was used as the title of a book, "The Purple shall govern: a South African A to Z of nonviolent action" written by Dene Smuts, Shauna Westcott and M. Nash, and published by the Centre for Intergroup Studies in 1991.
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