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Over 500 people picketed the opening night of Funny Girl, starring Marti Caine, at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield in 1984. They were protesting against Marti Caine’s 14-month contract at Sun City and her outspoken defence of South Africa. Local Equity members signed a petition supporting the protest. The Crucible later agreed with Sheffield Council that it would not employ actors who appeared on the UN Register of performers who had appeared in South Africa.

The Committee on South African War Resistance (COSAWR) handed over sports equipment for the ANC’s Solomon Mahlangu Freedom School for South African refugee children to ANC representative Solly Smith and Adelaide Tambo in 1984. From the early 1980s young white South Africans who refused to do compulsory military service came to Britain and played an important part in anti-apartheid campaigns.

Westminster Council staff protested outside Westminster City Hall against a visit by apartheid Mayor of Johannesburg Eddy Magid in 1984. Mayor Magid had a private meeting with the Mayor of Westminster, John Bull.

In 1984 a Dunnes supermarket shopworker in Dublin, Mary Manning, was sacked for refusing to check out Outspan oranges from South Africa. Eleven of her colleagues went on strike to demand her reinstatement. In the photograph are Dunnes strikers Cathryn O’Reilly and Mary Manning with GLC members Ken Livingstone and Valerie Wise.

In the autumn of 1984 the AAM and Namibia Support Committee campaigned to raise Namibia’s public profile in Britain and change government policy. A Declaration calling for ‘Namibia: Independence Now!’ was endorsed by over 400 organisations and 6,000 individuals. This leaflet publicised a lobby of Parliament coordinated by the AAM as part of the campaign.

This leaflet asked AAM supporters to press the British government to intervene with South Africa on behalf of three young ANC militants sentenced to death. Benjamin Moloise was wrongly accused of shooting a security policeman. In spite of a long-running campaign he was executed on 18 October 1985. Clarence Payi and Sipho Xulu were convicted of killing an alleged informer. Their appeal was rejected and they were hanged on 9 September 1986.

Wooden badge calling for the release of Nelson Mandela.

Poster connecting the purchase of South African fruit with lynchings in the American south by quoting the Billie Holliday song ‘Southern trees bear a strange fruit’.