Political Theory Commons^™

Mandela's Dark Years: A Political Theory Of Dreaming, Sharon Sliwinski

Sharon Sliwinski

Interview With Curtis Black, Jeremy Alexander Cairns

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 77 minutes

Oral history interview of Curtis Black by Jeremy Alexander Cairns

In his interview, Curtis Black details his childhood and early college years at the University of Chicago. He explains how he became involved in the anti-apartheid movement in 1979 while covering divestment for the Chicago Maroon and, soon after, joining the Action Committee on South Africa, a student organization that campaigned to get the University of Chicago to divest from stock of corporations doing business in South Africa. He notes an especially significant piece he wrote in 1985, interviewing Prexy Nesbitt, that gave a comprehensive view of …

Interview With Josephine Wyatt, Suzanne Miller

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 73 minutes

Oral history interview of Josephine Wyatt by Suzanne Miller

In her interview, Ms. Wyatt recalls her childhood on her family’s farm in Georgia, her family’s church, and their community. She explains how she and her husband relocated to Chicago for work, where she started taking classes at the local colleges. She tells of how she began working for Chicago Child Care after her divorce, first as a secretary and then as an office manager. She recalls how she deeply identified with the struggles in Apartheid South Africa, after growing up in Jim Crow Georgia and witnessing the …

Interview With George Schmidt, Melena Grace Nicholson

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 154 minutes

Oral history interview of George Schmidt by Melena Grace Nicholson

Chicago Public School teacher and union activist, George Schmidt discusses his work as editor of Substance a newspaper covering public education that he helped found in 1975. His activism was sparked during his college years and he recounts his work during his teaching career. He was involved in the G.I. movement and military counseling, working with ZANU (Zimbabwe African National Union), and people in Angola and Mozambique, before becoming a teacher. His interest in military counseling and the G.I. movement stems from his own parents’ experience during …

Interview With Stan Willis, Richard Hughey

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 135 minutes

Oral history interview of Stan Willis by Richard Hughey

Mr. Willis begins by recounting his early years in Chicago with his family and his gang activity in high school. He briefly describes his years in the Air Force and his work as a bus driver before enrolling at Crane College. Willis describes his activism work from his college years in detail, creating the Black History Club and later running for and winning student body president, during which time he helped organize strikes against injustices around the country. He mentions how he had a hand in naming the …

Interview With Alice Palmer, Katherine Elizabeth Mcauliff

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 107 minutes

Oral history interview of Alice Palmer by Katherine Elizabeth McAuliff

As a youth, Palmer mentions, she encountered news of South African Apartheid through a magazine to which her grandparents subscribed, outlining methods of classifying race in the country, particularly through hair texture. In college, Palmer mentions a deepened awareness of the issues in South Africa, which propelled her student activism during the boycott against the Krugerrand. Palmer also describes her involvement in organizing the Free South Africa Movement with other Chicago-based activists. She describes the demonstrations between November 1984 and March 1985 in front of the South …

Interview With Clarice Durham, Lauren Ashley Alexander

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 95 minutes

Oral history interview of Clarice Durham by Lauren Ashley Alexander

Clarice Durham recalls her childhood and recounts her work with the Illinois NAACP, The National Anti-Imperialist Movement in Solidarity with African Liberation (NAIMSAL), and as co-chair of the National Alliance Against Racial and Political Oppression. She campaigned for justice in the Scottsboro Boys case in 1931, attended the founding convention of the Progressive Party in 1948, and participated in the March on Washington in 1963. As Durham recaps her trip to South Africa, she recalls the change it had on her and her views of the movement. …

Interview With Constance Prince, Brett Edward King

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 97 minutes

Oral history interview of Constance Prince by Brett Edward King

In her interview, Ms. Prince details her difficult childhood in Florida, her first marriage, the birth of her daughter, and her divorce. She recalls how she completed her degree at Florida State University and moved with her daughter to Chicago to attend Northwestern University. She describes how she first learned of South African apartheid at Northwestern through Prexy Nesbitt. This, she explains, led to her involvement in the anti-apartheid movement: at the urging of Nesbitt and George Schmidt, she wrote a three-piece series outlining the history of …

Interview With Jean Kracher, Michael Lee Johnson

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 97 minutes

Oral history interview of Jean Kracher by Michael Lee Johnson

Ms. Kracher explains how she first became involved in the anti-Apartheid movement after moving to New York where she was initially involved a number of different social justice causes. She mentions her arrest after chaining herself to the South African consulate door during a protest. She explains how most of her activism work largely revolved around the HIV/AIDS crisis in the 1980s and the impact that some policies had on gay communities. She mentions how she started an organization called CFAR (Chicago For AIDS Rights), later renamed …

Interview With Zeva Schub, Lynette Marie Reid

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 67 minutes

Oral history interview of Zeva Schub by Lynette Marie Reid

Zeva Schub’s activism began early during her time in high school. She was involved in civil rights activism and carried it over when she went to college at the University of Illinois. She describes the influence of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had on her and her sister, who was involved in the Anti-apartheid movement in Chicago, which is what prompted her to join the cause. She describes becoming a member of CIDSA (Coalition for Illinois Divestment in South Africa) and joining other organizations that were opposed …

Interview With Otis Cunningham, Danny Fenster

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 98 minutes

Oral history interview of Otis Cunningham by Danny Fenster

Mr. Cunningham begins by explaining what it was like growing up amidst the Civil Rights Movement in Chicago, witnessing the reactions to the assassinations of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. He explains how he first became involved in activism for African liberation movements when he joined the African-American Solidarity Committee where he served on the editorial board of their journal and he elaborates on the work they did. He recalls the social gatherings that sprung up through the movement. He explains the complicated history and relationships …

Interview With Cheryl Graves, Guadalupe Santoyo

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 88 minutes

Oral history interview of Cheryl Graves by Guadalupe Santoyo

Ms. Graves first describes her childhood on the South Side of Chicago, raised with an awareness of social justice and activism, amongst a close extended family. She recalls her educational experiences, attending an integrated high school, her initial struggles in college, and her eventual career path. She explains how she became involved in the anti-Apartheid movement after law school while providing legal assistance to union workers, eventually joining CIDSA (Coalition for Illinois Divestment from South Africa). She elaborates on the actions they took to demand divestment from South …

Interview With Cheryl Johnson-Odim, Carrie Armbruster

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 57 minutes

Oral history interview of Cheryl Johnson-Odim by Carrie Armbruster

Johnson-Odim describes her introduction to South African Apartheid in junior high school through her music teacher, S. Carol Buchanan, who was good friends with the musical director for Harry Belafonte. After auditioning and being chosen to sing on his album, “The Streets I’ve Walked,” Belafonte took Johnson and the other singers to watch South African Boot Dancers, who later went to teach the students about the apartheid regime in South Africa. She describes how her involvement in the civil rights of African Americans and the rights of women …

Interview With Njoki Kamau, Christian Tulp

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 96 minutes

Oral history interview of Njoki Kamau by Christian Tulp

In this interview, Njoki Kamau Kamau recalls her childhood in Kenya under British colonialism and during the Mau Mau rebellion. She explains the Kukuyu traditions of her childhood and the effects the rebellion had on her family. She recalls her first experiences with racism in the United States and her struggles at Northwestern University. She explains how her childhood under colonialism dramatically influenced her later activism. She then explains how her participation in the divestment movement began with conversations with Dennis Brutus, a Northwestern professor from South Africa, …

Interview With Lisa Ann Brock, Amanda Anderson

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 96 minutes

Oral history interview of Lisa Ann Brock by Amanda Anderson

Dr. Brock was born and raised in Glendale, Ohio. She holds a BA in history from Howard University and a doctorate in history from Northwestern University. She has spent most of her life involved in social justice activism and higher education. She was the founding Academic Director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College for ten years. She currently works as a JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion) consultant.

Interview With Rosetta Daylie, Sarah Bonkowski

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 71 minutes

Oral history interview of Rosetta Daylie by Sarah Bonkowski

Rosetta Daylie begins by recounting her childhood on the South Side of Chicago, raised by a politically active family. She recalls her initial work in food service at the Illinois Visually Handicapped Institution. She explains how she was working for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), a trade union of public employees, when she learned about the anti-Apartheid movement and the Illinois Labor Network Against Apartheid (ILLNAA. She describes her work with ILLNAA and the Coalition of Black Trade Labor Unionists, the Shell boycott …

Interview With Orlando Redekopp, Balin Pagadala

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Mr. Redekopp describes living in Botswana between 1977 and 1980, building correspondence schools for South African refugees who fled Soweto amidst the Uprising of 1976. He describes living amongst South Africans, notably attending a memorial service for Steve Biko. He states how after returning to North America, he began participating in the anti-apartheid movement. He explains how, in 1982, once settled in Chicago, he served as minister at the First Church of the Brethren in Chicago. He details his time between1980 and 1990, participating in Sing Out Against Apartheid, protests outside the Chicago South African Consulate, and divestment efforts within …

Interview With Carol Thompson, Marcia Monaco

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 91 minutes

Oral history interview of Carol Thompson by Marcia Monaco

In this interview, Carol Thompson recalls her involvement and work in the anti-apartheid movement. She explains that her awareness of the anti-Apartheid movement began while at Northern Illinois University, but she first became involved after she moved to Chicago, when she met South African author, Donald Woods, which led to her involvement in the Dennis Brutus’ defense committee. She recalls that she initially worked with Clergy and Laity Concerned and later, alongside Prexy Nesbitt, became a founding member of CIDSA, which was committed to passing legislation in Chicago …

Interview With Danny Rochman, Arturo Carillo

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 159 minutes

Oral history interview of Danny Rochman by Arturo Carillo

Mr. Rochman begins by recounting the events of his first few years, he was born in Johannesburg in 1960 shortly after the Sharpeville Massacre, his family was forced to flee to England due to their involvement in the anti-Apartheid movement and aiding Mandela, eventually immigrating to Chicago. He then explains how he became involved in the anti-Apartheid movement himself as a student at Oberlin College, trying to push the school to divest from South African companies. He recalls his family’s deeper history, their immigration to South Africa, his …

Interview With Basil Clunie, Juston Ori

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 73 minutes

Oral history interview of Basil Clunie by Juston Ori

Basil Clunie recalls growing up in New York, attending cricket games, and following the Dodgers baseball team, especially Jackie Robinson. Education was an important part of his family, as his parents came to New York to for education, with his mother earning a degree in math and his father a pharmacy degree. He mentions describes about the organizations he worked with during his time in the anti-apartheid movement and recalls the sparked his activism in 1961. He discusses the 1964 race riots in Harlem, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, …

Interview With Joan Gerig, Jessica Peoples

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 192 minutes

Oral history interview of Joan Gerig by Jessica Peoples

Gerig begins by describing her radicalization in Botswana between 1977 and 1980 when she lived and built correspondence schools for South African refugees fleeing Soweto after the Uprising of 1976. She explains how, upon returning to the U.S., she became a liaison between the religious community and the anti-apartheid movement. She details her role in organizing the annual “Standing for the Truth” campaign. She also mentions her participation in coalitions such as CCIDSA, CCISSA, the Mozambique Solidarity Network, the Church of the Brethren in South Africa Network, Evangelical …

Interview With Kathy Devine, Deseree Zimmerman

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 112 minutes

Oral history interview of Kathy Devine by Deseree Zimmerman

In this interview, Kathleen Devine recounts her political interests and activist work in the anti-Apartheid movement. She begins with recounting her childhood in Chicago and how she first became aware of the political and social realities of the day, with the assassination of JFK and witnessing the Civil Rights Movement. She discusses her time at St. Louis University, George Washington University, and how she came to work for the Department of Treasury. She explains how, when she returned to Chicago, she learned of the anti-Apartheid movement through the …

Interview With Rachel Rubin, Brandi Schaeffer

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 88 minutes

Oral history interview of Rachel Rubin by Brandi Schaeffer

Dr. Rubin begins by recalling her childhood in Chicago, raised with her twin brother and younger sister, in an ethnically diverse north side neighborhood. She explains how she became involved in activism work at the University of Illinois as part of a Campus program that helped her learn more about activism, discussing topics like Marxism and socialism. She mentions her involvement in the campus protests demanding the university divest from the South Africa. She describes joining CIDSA (Committee for Illinois Divestment in South Africa), later known as CCISSA …

Interview With Michael Elliott, Brian Gibson

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 56 minutes

Oral history interview of Mike Siviwe Elliott by Brian Gibson.

Mr. Elliott begins by recounting his childhood in Detroit, raised in a working-class union neighborhood on the west side of the city. He talks about his early challenges in school, attending an alternative school where he received his GED, then attending Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan where he studied political science for three years. He explains how he first became involved in activism, working for the Black Panthers when he was young and serving as chair of the Association of Black Students in college. He recalls how …