‘Freedom for Nelson Mandela’ in Hyde Park, London on 17 July 1988. Thousands of demonstrators marched through central London to a rally attended by 250,000 people. The rally was the climax of the AAM’s ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign and the biggest ever anti-apartheid demonstration in Britain.


Abdul Minty was Honorary Secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1962 to 1994. He recalls the fear among ANC leaders in 1963-4 that Nelson Mandela and his comrades would be hanged.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


Barbara Castle was President of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1962 to 1964. She organised a vigil at the 1961 Commonwealth conference at which South Africa was forced to leave the Commonwealth.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


Short clip from the film produced for the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s ‘Boycott Apartheid 89’ campaign. The film exposed how trade with South Africa strengthened the apartheid government and asked British consumers to act responsibly by boycotting South African products. Director: Ngozi Onwurah.


Christabel Gurney helped organise the first protests against Barclays Bank in the early 1970s. She remembers how protesters disrupted Barclays’ annual general meeting in 1972.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


David Kenvyn joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement when he was a student in the late 1960s. He tells of his anger at the way black South Africans were treated under apartheid.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


Ethel de Keyser was Executive Secretary of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1967 to 1974 and a long-term member of its Executive Committee. She explains how resistance within South Africa sparked support in Britain.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


The Special AKA perform 'Free Nelson Mandela', the song written by Jerry Dammers that became an international hit. It was played in South Africa at football matches as a protest against the regime.

See Jerry's interview for more information about how he came to write it and its influence.


Film produced for the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s ‘Boycott Apartheid 89’ campaign. The film exposed how trade with South Africa strengthened the apartheid government and asked British consumers to act responsibly by boycotting South African products. Director: Ngozi Onwurah


Clip from the film ‘Fruits of Fear’, produced for the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s ‘Boycott Apartheid 89’ campaign. Anti-apartheid activists from inside and outside South Africa talk about the importance of sanctions and boycott in the struggle to end apartheid. Director: Ngozi Onwurah


Julian Bahula’s Jazz Afrika, ‘Mandela’, written for the Festival of African Sounds at Alexandra Palace, north London, held on 17 July 1983 to celebrate Nelson Mandela‘s 65th birthday. Taken from ‘African Sounds for Mandela’, TS Afrika Records, 1983.

Jerry Dammers cites this as the inspiration for his hit song ‘Free Nelson Mandela’.


Labour MP Bob Hughes was Chair of the Anti-Apartheid Movement from 1976 to 1994. He describes the cumulative effect of anti-apartheid campaigns over many years and the broad base of support in Britiain for the Anti-Apartheid Movement.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


Mike Terry remembers the international campaign to stop the execution of Solomon Mahlangu and the trauma of Mahlangu’s hanging in 1979.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg


Vella Pillay came to Britain from South Africa in 1948 and was a founder member of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He recalls how he felt when he voted in South Africa's first democratic election in 1994.

This is a clip from an interview for the film series ‘Have You Heard from Johannesburg?’, covering the 50-year history of the global anti-apartheid movement. The series is a Clarity Films production, produced and directed by Connie Field. See http://www.clarityfilms.org/haveyouheardfromjohannesburg