The BFI on London's South Bank will present a preview on Thursday 7 May of 'Free Nelson Mandela', a three-part TV series to be shown later this year on Channel 4. Produced by Rogan Productions with material from the AAM Archives, the programmes feature the international campaign to free Mandela and footage from the AAM's 1986 Festival for Freedom on Clapham Common. The BFI showing will be followed by a Q&A session – tickets from the BFI box office. There will also be a preview at the Showroom Cinema, Sheffield on 21 May.
The Anti-Apartheid Legacy Trust's Centre of Memory and Learning is set to open later this year. It is based at 28 Penton Street, Islington, London, the ANC’s former London HQ. The Centre will house exhibitions, an archive and study facilities. It will also have an outreach programme and online resources. The project already has an exciting programme of events and commissions. To watch the centre's 'Breaking the Ground' ceremony, click here. To find out more about the Centre's programme click here.
'All Shall Be Afforded Dignity', an exhibition of South African artist Norman Kaplan’s linocuts and cartoons, will move back to London on 5 May. It will be on show at Worldly, Wicked and Wise, 81 Salusbury Road, Queen's Park, NW6 6NH until 27 May. The exhibition celebrates the journey to democracy in South Africa and includes cartoons created for the ANC journal Sechaba and the SACP's African Communist. The rehung exhibition will also feature new artworks created in response to the genocide in Gaza. It is presented by the Anti-Apartheid Legacy Trust in partnership with the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives and Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA). For more information click here.
‘Oliver Tambo and his London Recruits’ tells the story of the young men and women who went to South Africa to carry out undercover missions for the ANC. The film premiered at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton on Thursday 21 November and will be showing at independent cinemas all over Britain in a ‘People’s Release’. For dates and places, or if you can suggest a venue for a showing, click here.
South African artist Norman Kaplan’s exhibition of linocuts and cartoons will move to Bristol at the end of April. It will be on show at John Wesley's New Room, 36 The Horsefair, BS1 3JE from 29 April to 19 June, together with a programme of schools workshops and outreach events. Many of the artworks first appeared in the ANC's journal Sechaba and The African Communist. The exhibition is part of the 'All Shall be Afforded Democracy' programme organised by ACTSA, the AAM Legacy Centre of Memory and Learning project and AAM Archives to mark 30 years of South Africa's liberation. https://antiapartheidlegacy.org.uk/resources/exhibitions/asbad/
Remembering Hanef Bhamjee, Chair of Wales AAM, who died on 9 January. Hanef resisted apartheid in South Africa from the age of 11 and helped found Wales AAM in 1981. He was a driving force in mobilising the people of Wales in the fight againt apartheid. You can read Wales Assembly member Mick Antoniw's tribute to Hanef in the Senedd here
The Mitting Inquiry into Undercover Policing has revealed how the British police spied extensively on the AAM, Stop the Seventy Tour and other anti-apartheid groups. Documents reveal how undercover officers attended AGMs and infiltrated private meetings. You can read summaries of some of the evidence here
The Scottish Centre for Global History at the University of Dundee is running a four-part podcast series on the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. SCGH editor Paul Feeney talks about how the AAM grew from small beginnings in the 1960s into one of the biggest social movements of the 20th century with historians Matt Graham and Chris Fevre. The podcasts also discuss the legacy of anti-apartheid campaigning and its relevance to contemporary movements for social change. You can listen to the podcasts here.
The project to set up a new Centre of Memory Learning in the former ANC London office at 28 Penton Street, Islington has taken a big step forward with the award of a £250,000 Heritage Lottery Fund development grant. The Centre will showcase anti-apartheid campaigning to stimulate action against injustice, racism and inequality. Watch this space for news of ongoing activities.
The Welsh People’s History Society, Llafur, recently held a roundtable event on the Wales Anti-Apartheid Movement. Hanef Bhamjee, Mick Antoniw, Hywel Francis, Mair Francis and Gaynor Legall shared their memories and sparked a discussion that explored the origins, development and wider historical and cultural impact of anti-apartheid campaigning in Wales. The session was introduced by Morwenna Osmond. It was one of a fascinating series focusing on race and identity in Wales. You can listen to the session here.