Okay, this is not the most flattering photo, but it is the only one I have. The Nelson Mandela Foundation Center of Memory and the U.S. Embassy in South Africa co-hosted a screening of the film, From Selma to Soweto. It is one episode in the documentary series, Have You Heard from Johannesburg. This episode highlights the role of the United States, and African Americans, in the anti-apartheid movement. I was one of the speakers before the film was shown and made some comments about the movement in general, but talked about “the tipping point” of the sit-in at the South African Embassy in November 1984 that catapulted domestic activism to a new level. Not only did that one act on Thanksgiving evening lead to daily protests and arrests at the Embassy, it also galvanized increased support for the sanctions legislation in Congress and expanded the divestment campaign to the state and local levels. In addition, while I had come up with the Bracelet Program idea in 1982, it was the increased activism in South Africa and the sit-in at the South African Embassy that was the tipping point for me to launch the Political Prisoners of South Africa Bracelet Program.
I also made the point that those who sacrificed for the liberation of South Africa and Namibia, particularly from my perspective those who were sentenced to life, should not be forgotten. Forty-nine people were given life sentences during the apartheid era because they engaged in activities to bring about political and social change in South Africa and Namibia. Yet and still, people only know Nelson Mandela. I asked the audience if they had heard of Bobby Tsotsobe, David Moisi, Eliazer Tuhadeleni, Ncimbithi Lubisi, Naphtali Manana, Immanuel Shifidi, or Lizo Ngqungwana, who were also sentenced to life on Robben Island. They had not. I concluded by saying that I am currently working to collect, archive, and share materials from the Bracelet Program so that the sacrifices made by all those sentenced to life, and their families, are not forgotten.
I also made the point that those who sacrificed for the liberation of South Africa and Namibia, particularly from my perspective those who were sentenced to life, should not be forgotten. Forty-nine people were given life sentences during the apartheid era because they engaged in activities to bring about political and social change in South Africa and Namibia. Yet and still, people only know Nelson Mandela. I asked the audience if they had heard of Bobby Tsotsobe, David Moisi, Eliazer Tuhadeleni, Ncimbithi Lubisi, Naphtali Manana, Immanuel Shifidi, or Lizo Ngqungwana, who were also sentenced to life on Robben Island. They had not. I concluded by saying that I am currently working to collect, archive, and share materials from the Bracelet Program so that the sacrifices made by all those sentenced to life, and their families, are not forgotten.
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