Arts and Humanities Commons^™

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 …