The Wits History Workshop in 1978 introduced what would result in a series of conferences. Their focus was to present and discuss historical, sociological, political, literary, economic and anthropological aspects of the lives and experiences of the ordinary people mainly on the Witwatersrand and the larger region of the Transvaal. Initially these conferences were spaced at an interval of three years, and subsequently took place in 1978, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1999.

This collection seeks to consolidate the programs and papers that were presented at each of the thematic conferences.

Copies of the weekly newspapers Bantu World, from 1935-1955.

Published book entitled "Journal of a Visitation of the Diocese of Natal in 1864 by the Right Rev. Robert Gray, Lord Bishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan."

The collection of publications had been categorised (A-E) during a preliminary sorting by the donor. These categories have been retained as the main series in the arrangement of the collection.

A Historic Literature

B Presidential Addresses

C APDUSA

C1 Presidential Address by I.B. Tabata

C2 APDUSA Views

D NUM Bulletin

E The Education Journal

The Historical Literature series (A) is arranged in chronological order by the earlier publication date and not necessarily the date of publication of the re-issued titles and later editions found in this series. For example 'The Origin and Development Segregation in South Africa' a lecture by W.P. van Schoor was originally published in 1951. The publication in this collection is the lecture re-issued as part of the Unity Movement History Series, published by APDUSA in 1986.

The Presidential Addresses series (B) is arranged in chronological order.

The APDUSA series (C) is arranged in two subseries: Presidential Address by I.B. Tabata (C1) and APDUSA Views (C2). The APDUSA Views are arranged in chronological order by publication date for the first view issues and by the issue number for the remainder of the issues. This allows for current missing and further issues to be incorporated into the series without disrupting the order.

The NUM Bulletin series (D) is arranged in chronological order by volume and issue numbers to allow for current missing and further issues to be incorporated into the series. A subseries 'Special Bulletins' was added to accommodate a 'Special' issue and two anniversary issues. The Special Bulletins could not be included with the main series of NUM Bulletins due to an absence of volume and issue numbers for these issues.

The Educational Journal series (E) is arranged in two subseries due to their provenance and separate numbering systems. The Educational Journal was published by The Teachers' League of South Africa from 1967-1999 as their official organ (E1) and by NUPSAW Education Sector from 2000-2016 (E2). Both subseries are arranged in chronological order by volume and issue number (E1) and by publication date (E2) to allow for current missing and further issues to be incorporated.

After consultation within NUM the decision was made to include the name of Basil Brown in the collection name. Dr Basil Brown is the current President of NUM.

SAHA is expected to receive further material from the donor in the future. Additional material may include follow-up literature from NEUM/NUM/TLSA – Educational Journals as well as more recent publications from NUM.

While the collection at SAHA consists of a selection of NEUM and NUM publications, personal papers of individuals involved in these organisations are in the custody of the University of Fort Hare National Heritage and Cultural Studies (NAHECS) and the University of Cape Town Special Collections.