THE only thing that all Blacks in South Africa have in common is that they hate apartheid.

With nine tribes, 11 official languages and the gulf in lifestyle and education between rural and township dwellers, there is no one political opinion, political party or spokesperson who can presume to represent Black South Africans.

Yet anti-apartheid activists in the United States--in an attempt to focus attention on the racist system governing South Africa--tend to oversimplify the issues. According to them, 84 percent of Black South Africans support the African National Congress (ANC) and its call for continued divestment.

It's not that simple. The call for divestment today is far different from the call last year; with process of change underway, further divestment will only hurt Black South Africans and unnecessarily damage the economy of the future majority-led South Africa.

WHOEVER calculated that 84 percent of Black South Africans support the ANC did not reach a representative group. Does that statistic refer to the percentage of all Blacks living in South Africa, including the independent homelands that most Blacks still consider an integral part of South Africa? To the urban Blacks living in townships? Or to the percentage of politicized Black South Africans?

Most likely, the statistic refers to the percentage of the politicized (mostly urban) Black population that supports the ANC. But even then, the number is greatly exaggerated.

No one, including the ANC, knows how many people accept them as their political representative. Given the level of intimidation and coercion in the townships, only a secret ballot election would reveal true support. Today, for example, people are allying themselves with certain political groups simply for protection.

Liberation movements turned political parties in South Africa typically instigate public demonstrations against the apartheid regime and raise their flags above the demonstration and shout their party's slogans. In doing so, they use the grievances of disgruntled groups--such as the township youth who feel they are not being educated, the trade unionists who feel that wages are too low, and the unemployed who are frustrated by a lack of jobs--and make it seem as though these were people marching in support of their party.

All political groups use this ploy. Because the ANC has the most organized leadership, it may appear as if it has unanimous support. The truth is that many demonstrators against apartheid belong to other parties or may not be aligned at all.

Our tendency to consider everything that the ANC says as spoken gospel has hurt the process of democratization by allowing the ANC to stifle dissenting opinions at home. We need to encourage the ANC to work with the other political liberation movements and remain accountable to the needs of all Black South Africans.

In America, we never hear about groups like the PAC, a Black consciousness group, whose membership has increased drastically since President F.W. De Klerk unbanned all political parties in February and many exiles began to return home.

Also distorted in the media is Inkatha, whose primary membership consists of Zulu speaking people in Natal. The Zulus are by far the largest "tribe" in South Africa, yet American reports consistently accuse this group of being manipulated by the white supremicist regime.

Just because the head of Inkatha, Chief Buthelezi, has come out against sanctions does not mean that he has been collaborating with the government. Instead, he represents an alternative political perspective based upon the effect of sanctions on his constituency. Many Inkatha members work in factories in Natal and stand to lose their jobs when foreign companies withdraw.

SO WHICH group should Americans believe in deciding whether to divest? The ANC that supports divestment? Or Inkatha and those Black South Africans who stand to lose their jobs from additional sanctions?

In a sense, both sides are right. Divestment has forced the government to change--but further divestment will be at the expense of the poorest working class South Africans.