Felicia Kentridge

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Felicia Nahoma Kentridge (born August 7, 1930 in Johannesburg ; † June 7, 2015 ; born Felicia Nahoma Geffen ) was a South African- British lawyer. She was against apartheid and was one of the founders of the Legal Resources Center .

Life

Felicia Geffen's mother was South Africa's first female lawyer to be admitted to the court. Felicia Geffen studied law at the University of Cape Town and the University of the Witwatersrand , where she earned a Bachelor of Law in 1953 . In 1952 she married the lawyer Sydney Kentridge .

In the early 1970s she traveled to the United States to see legal advice centers for disadvantaged populations. In 1973 she founded a legal clinic (for example, “legal assistance center”). In 1979 she founded the non-profit Legal Resources Center (LRC) with the lawyer Arthur Chaskalson , which campaigned for the protection of human rights , especially for the fair treatment of blacks in court. Felicia Kentridge received support from the American foundations Carnegie Endowment for International Peace , Ford Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation . She was responsible for the administration of the LRC and was involved in several legal disputes with the South African state against its apartheid laws. In the “Komani case”, for example, it was possible to attack the discriminatory system of passport laws .

In 1981 Felicia and Sydney Kentridge moved to London. From there she traveled regularly to South Africa to look after the LRC. Even after the end of apartheid, she continued her commitment. She was chair of the Legal Resources Trust in London. Most recently she turned to painting.

The marriage to Sydney Kentridge lasted until Felicias Kentridge's death in 2015. She died of complications from progressive supranuclear palsy . Four children are from the marriage; the son William Kentridge lives as a visual artist and filmmaker in South Africa. Her daughter, Eliza Kentridge, was also known as a poet.

Awards

  • The General Council of the Bar of South Africa bestows the Sydney and Felicia Kentridge Award annually for outstanding achievements in public interest law (for example: "Charity in the legal system").

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gary Thatcher: S. African court weakens 'pass laws' for blacks. The Christian Science Monitor, August 21, 1980, accessed March 30, 2018
  2. ^ Lines of resistance. The New Yorker, January 18, 2010, accessed March 30, 2018
  3. ↑ Her stilled soul reveals the intimate. Mail & Guardian of July 23, 2015 (English), accessed March 30, 2018
personal data
SURNAME Kentridge, Felicia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kentridge, Felicia Nahoma (full name); Gellen, Felicia Nahoma (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION South African-British lawyer
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Johannesburg
DATE OF DEATH June 7, 2015
Place of death London