When the youth of Soweto, in open insurrection in June 1976, smashed and burned eighteen state-owned liquor outlets and a similar number of bottle stores, they were not following the pattern of alcohol looting which often accompanies rioting. They were attacking symbols of state oppression and their anger stemmed partly from deep and complicated struggles over control of the access of blacks to alcohol in South Africa. From many published sources, official and unofficial, the social and economic importance of alcohol in black communities is glaringly evident. The subject has, however, received little systematic, scholarly attention to date. Liquor and labor in southern Africa breaks new ground in locating the study of alcohol use within the framework of southern African historiography.