Professional groups

Peter Ahrends was born in Berlin in 1933. His family fled the Nazis and arrived in South Africa in 1937. He left at the age of 18 to study architecture in London. Peter became chair of UK Architects Against Apartheid, an affiliate of the Anti-Apartheid Movement. He campaigned for a cultural and academic boycott of South Africa and called for the de-recognition of the Institute of South African Architects by the RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects).

In this clip Peter describes his memory of witnessing racism in South Africa as a child.

Glenys Kinnock became active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement as a student at Cardiff University. In the 1980s she spoke at numerous anti-apartheid meetings and conferences and played a central role in the ‘Children & Apartheid’ conference in Harare in 1987. She was MEP for Wales from 1994 to 2009 and served as Minister of State in the Foreign Office, 2009–10. Later she sat in the House of Lords as Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of the ‘Forward to Freedom’ AAM history project in 2013.

Glenys Kinnock became active in the Anti-Apartheid Movement as a student at Cardiff University. In the 1980s she spoke at numerous anti-apartheid meetings and conferences and played a central role in the ‘Children & Apartheid’ conference in Harare in 1987. She was MEP for Wales from 1994 to 2009 and served as Minister of State in the Foreign Office, 2009–10. Later she sat in the House of Lords as Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead.

In this clip Glenys Kinnock describes how the testimony of child detainees, given at the conference in Harare, changed the way the world viewed apartheid South Africa.

Joni McDougall became active in Camden Anti-Apartheid Group in 1984. She later worked full-time in the Anti-Apartheid Movement office for the Bishop Ambrose Reeves Trust as organiser of the international conference on ‘Children & Apartheid’, held in Harare in 1987. In 1988 she joined the Nelson Mandela Freedom March as one of the 25 marchers who walked from Glasgow to London as part of the ‘Nelson Mandela: Freedom at 70’ campaign.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of the ‘Forward to Freedom’ AAM history project in 2013.

Brian Hurwitz grew up in South Africa and came to Britain in the late 1970s. He joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement as a local group activist, campaigning for a consumer boycott and for the release of Southern African political prisoners. As a qualified solicitor, he was a founder member of Lawyers Against Apartheid. After 1994, Brian went back to South Africa and worked for the Land Claims Commission. Since his return to Britain in 1999, he has been active in ACTSA (Action for Southern Africa).

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of a research project on the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and South Africa’s transition to majority rule, conducted by Dr Matt Graham (History programme, University of Dundee) and Dr Christopher Fevre (International Studies Group, University of the Free State) See https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13619462.2021.1976154

Mark Guthrie came to Britain from South Africa as a teenager in 1976 and joined the Anti-Apartheid Movement soon after his arrival. As a law student and member of Manchester University Senate in 1983, he proposed that the university should give an honorary degree to Nelson Mandela. He was later active in Camden Anti-Apartheid Group and was a founder member in 1987 of Lawyers Against Apartheid, serving as its Secretary and later its Chair until it was dissolved in 1994.

This is a complete transcript of an interview carried out as part of a research project on the British Anti-Apartheid Movement and South Africa’s transition to majority rule, conducted by Dr Matt Graham (History programme, University of Dundee) and Dr Christopher Fevre (International Studies Group, University of the Free State). See https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13619462.2021.1976154