Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (campaigner) Mary Benson (8 December 1919 – 19 June 2000) was a South African civil rights campaigner and author. Born in 1919 in Pretoria, Benson served in the South African Women's Army during World War II. After the war, she was secretary to film director David Lean. Benson became acquainted with the author Alan Paton, and read his novel "Cry, the beloved country" (1948), whose main theme was racial discrimination in South Africa. This affected her greatly, and she became a campaigner for the rights of black people there. She worked with Michael Scott (who, in 1946, was
Concert in the Park (South Africa) Concert in the Park (South Africa) Concert in the Park was a benefit concert held in Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa, on 12 January, 1985. 22 bands played at the benefit, which was attended by an estimated 125,000 people—of whom about 100,000 had purchased tickets. Proceeds of more than R450,000 went to Operation Hunger, a South African charity founded in 1978. The bands and solo artists who played that day were: The band Bright Blue knew they would not be available to play live, but lead singer and songwriter Rob Levitan wrote a song for the occasion, which was