The History of DRUM
Africa’s first Black lifestyle magazine, a rare space in Apartheid South Africa for Black writers, journalists, and photographers to capture vibrant urban African culture and the political injustices of their time. 1951 – 1986.
The Birth
of DRUM
Founded in 1951 by Bob Crisp, DRUM’s first issues presented an oversimplified image of Black culture as untouched by an urbanising world. Articles on traditional African instruments landed flat with readers who already knew the stories from their grandparents. What came next changed everything.
Taken over by Jim Bailey, DRUM pivoted to the actual lives of urban Black South Africans: sport, jazz, scandal and serious politics, delivered in what editors called “a sweetie-wrapper of sport, sex and scandal.”
Voices of
a Generation
DRUM nurtured a generation of Black journalists and photographers: Casey Motsisi, Todd Matshikiza, Henry Nxumalo, Can Themba, Nat Nakasa, Lewis Nkosi, Bloke Modisane, Es’kia Mphahlele, Bessie Head, Peter Magubane, Bob Gosani, Ernest Cole, Alf Kumalo, and many more across Africa.
At its peak in the 1960s, DRUM held the highest readership of any magazine on the continent. It covered Nelson Mandela’s arrest, the death of Steve Biko, and Independence movements across Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The Archive
Lives On
The Drum Archive is a comprehensive collection of African photography and journalism spanning 1951–1986. It includes five editions of Drum alongside related titles: Golden City Post, True Love, and Trust.
The digital collection, formerly Bailey’s African History Archive, is an expanding public resource for students, researchers, artists, and wider audiences. It supports discovery, study, and responsible reuse of historical material, with clear pathways for research access and rights-managed licensing.