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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 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 Willie Williamson, Lisa Duke

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 79 minutes

Oral history interview of Willie Williamson by Lisa Duke

Mr. Williamson begins by describing his childhood in Grenada, Mississippi, one of nine children, playing baseball and attending Sunday school, and growing up in the Jim Crow South. He recalls how he first learned of Apartheid through a food drive for South African refugees where they learned of the efforts to expel South Africa from the United Nations, which persuaded him and his wife to become involved. He explains how this led him and others to establish the National Anti-Imperialist Movement for Southern Africa Liberation (NAIMSAL). He describes …

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 Mary Scott Boria, Pamela Birchard

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 92 minutes

Oral history interview of Mary Schott Boria by Pamela Birchard

Mary Scott Boria begin by detailing her childhood as the daughter of a divorced, interracial couple in the 1950s. She explains how at the age of 14, she packed a suitcase and joined her mother in Chicago where she participated in the Civil Rights Movement, joining the NAACP and, later, the Black Panther Party while in college. She recalls joining the Chicago Committee in Solidarity with Southern Africa (CCISSA) in the 1980s, working toward the divestment of the Apartheid government, participating in demonstrations, helping put together newsletters, …

Interview With Mary Patten, Blair Allen Mishleau

Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement

Length: 91 minutes

Oral history interview of Mary Patten by Blair Allen Mishleau

Mary Patten talks about her experiences during the 1960s and how the assassination of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy contributed to her consciousness. She describes wanting to be in the fight for equality at an early age by remembering her mother not letting go of her hand during to a protest during that time. Patten then describes the environment of her college education and its effect on her activism and her beliefs in equality. She mentions her role in Students for a Democratic …

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 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 …