The March month of boycott action in 1960 saw the highest levels of anti-apartheid activity in Britain until the sanctions campaign of the mid-1980s. The Boycott Movement published three issues of BOYCOTT NEWS, charting the progress of the campaign.
Issue 1 printed the seminal appeal by South African leaders Chief Albert Luthuli, GM Naicker and Peter Brown for an international boycott of apartheid goods. Issue 2 featured statements of support from Labour and Liberal Party leaders Hugh Gaitskell and Jo Grimond. Issue 3 recorded the ANC’s momentous decision after the Sharpeville massacre to move from asking individuals to boycott South African goods to calling for UN international sanctions against South Africa. Altogether BOYCOTT NEWS sold over 250,000 copies. You can read them here.
Read this handwritten letter from Nelson Mandela to the British public expressing thanks for their ‘overwhelming generosity’.
The letter was written on the day Mandela attended the 16 April 1990 Wembley concert held to celebrate his release from prison on 11 February.
Take a look at our new Memories Section. We've contributions from former MP and Anti-Apartheid Movement Chair Bob Hughes and PCS Vice-President and community and human rights activist Zita Holbourne.
You can find it here. Bob Hughes describes the hard work of campaigning in a pre-digital age without the internet, email or social media, and Zita describes her introduction to anti-apartheid campaigning and her experiences of racism when she first visited South Africa and how this has motivated her.
There will be more to come and you are invited to make your own contributions by emailing us at
Apologies - this evening has been postponed, and will hopefully take place later this year.
Forward to Freedom - an oral history project
As well as presenting the history of the movement, the evening will focus on the oral history part of the project, the selection process, training, and the practicalities. We will have input from interviewers, interviewees, the Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives Committee and the project manager.
If you would like to attend please email with a subject heading 'oral history evening'.