Isaac Bangani Tabata (1909-1990), also known as "I.B" or "Tabby", was a South African political activist, author and orator. A Marxist in the Trotskyist tradition, he was central to the Non-European Unity Movement from its inception in 1943, as well as in the African Peoples' Democratic Union of Southern Africa (APDUSA) formed 1961. He is notable for his innovative analyses, theoretical work and lifelong commitment to the movement. Tabata was married to Jane Gool, a major political activist. Early years and the Workers Party of South Africa Isaac Bangani Tabata was born on 10 June 1909 at Bailey, near Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. He attended his secondary schooling at the mission school of Lovedale, whose other notable alumni include Steve Biko, Ellen Kuzwayo, Govan Mbeki and Charles Nqakula. He continued his studies in the University of Fort Hare, and then, from 1931, worked in Cape Town to seek employment. He found work as a truck driver and soon joined the racially diverse Lorry Drivers' Union, where he served as a member of the executive body. It was when he joined the Cape African Voters Association that he was exposed to Marxist and other radical literature. He was a founding member of the Trotskyist Workers Party of South Africa (WPSA) in 1935, and joined the All African Convention (AAC) formed the same year, holding office in its executive body. Along with Jane Gool (later his wife) and her brother Dr Goolam Gool, Tabata played a significant role in the AAC’s campaign against and analysis of the 1935 Land Act and moves towards the removal of the qualified franchise for Coloureds and Africans in the Cape Province. When the ANC withdrew from the AAC, Tabata worked building the AAC into a new national coalition. Tabata was also one of the founders of the Anti-Coloured Affairs Department Group (Anti-C.A.D). The Unity Movement Tabata was a founder member of in the Non-European Unity Movement (NEUM) from its inception in 1943, which brought together the AAC and other bodies into a new national structure. The WPSA had gone underground in 1939, and focused much of its energies on the NEUM. From 1943, Tabata was a leading figure in both the NEUM and the AAC. Tabata's first book, the Awakening of a People in 1950, examined the political struggle in South Africa and argued the case for the NEUM. Tabata was critical of the African