Forward to Freedom
Forward to Freedom tells the story of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and its campaigns to support the people of South Africa in their fight against apartheid. The AAM also campaigned for freedom for Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola, and against South Africa’s attacks on its neighbours.
On this website you can find out how hundreds of thousands of people all over Britain took part in anti-apartheid activities. You can watch demonstrations and concerts, and hear from some of those involved. We hope you will find it interesting and look forward to hearing from you. Please send your feedback and questions to info@aamarchives.org
The website is part of a wider education project set up by the AAM Archives Committee that includes a pop-up exhibition and learning resources. It has been funded by the Barry Amiel & Norman Melburn Trust and the Heritage Lottery Fund, and organised in partnership with Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA).
The AAM archive is held at the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford and is open to researchers on application for a Bodleian reader’s card. The archive of Wales AAM is at the National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth and that of the Scottish AA Committee at Glasgow Caledonian University. Records for many local AA Groups and for the London Anti-Apartheid Committee are held at local record offices – see ‘Links’.
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An exhibition of linocuts and cartoons by South African artist Norman Kaplan will be on show at the Crypt Gallery, St Martin's-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square from 22 April to 1 May. The artworks evoke themes of democracy and determination to fight
...A new podcast in the '100 Campaigns that Changed the World' series features the Anti-Apartheid Movement. Chitra Karve, Suresh Kamath and Tim Oshodi talk about how the AAM grew from small beginnings to become the biggest ever British international solidarity
...This year’s ACTSA dinner will take place on Wednesday 29 November at South Africa House. Browse gifts and holidays donated for the auction, dance with guest DJ, enjoy 3-course dinner and drinks. And support Action for Southern Africa in its
...Julian Bahula, who died on 1 October, was an extraordinary musician, who pioneered the use of music in anti-apartheid campaigning. Julian organised the Africa Sounds concert at Alexandra Palace in London in 1983 to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s 65th birthday. His
...Following its successful run at the Southwark Playhouse, Strike! will tour Britain and Ireland next year. Strike! tells the story of the Dublin shopworkers who refused to sell South African fruit in 1984. Venues will include Coventry, Poole,
...Discover how international tennis associations colluded with apartheid in Saleem Badat's new book Tennis, Apartheid and Social Justice: The First Non-Racial International Tennis Tour. Professor Badat will talk about his book at SOAS on 26 June. You
...A new seven-part podcast series covers the history of apartheid in South Africa and the global anti-apartheid movement. Commissioned by the AAM Legacy Centre of Memory and Learning project, the series accompanies Edexcel's A-Level History
...Don't miss The Only White, a play about John Harris, a member of the African Resistance Movement, who was hanged by the apartheid regime for planting a bomb at Johannesburg Railway Station in 1964. Written by Gail Louw it is at the Chelsea Theatre, from
...Strike!, Tracey Ryan's brilliant play about the Dublin shopworkers who refused to sell South African fruit in 1984 will run at the Southwark Playhouse, 13 April–6 May. Plans are ongoing for a nationwide tour. Tickets for the May Day performance on
...The Nelson Mandela Scottish Memorial Foundation is making a final push in its £150,000 appeal for a statue of Nelson Mandela in Glasgow's Nelson Mandela Place. The statue will commemorate Mandela's visit to Glasgow in October 1993 to receive in
...Browse an archive of photos and documents
Former activists tell their stories
A significant part of this project was to record the experiences of former activists in Britain. Jerry Dammers formed the Specials in Coventry in 1977.
An anti-apartheid activist from his school days he helped start Artists Against Apartheid in the UK to campaign and help enforce the cultural boycott.
He wrote the song, Free Nelson Mandela, which became an international hit and helped raise awareness of the plight of Mandela and political prisoners in South Africa.
You can hear him talk about writing the song.
Learn about the history of the Anti-Apartheid Movement
In 1964 Marlon Brando asked film directors, actors and producers to forbid the screening of their films before segregated audiences in South Africa on a visit to London.
In this photograph he is at a press conference with the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s Hon. Secretary Abdul Minty.
The Rolling Stones broke off negotiations for a South African tour and the Beatles announced they opposed apartheid.
Read more about this history starting with the Boycott Movement in 1959, through the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.