Anti-Apartheid Movement

The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organisation that became one of the most influential components of the international campaign against South Africa’s apartheid system. It developed from the Boycott Movement, founded in London on 26 June 1959 by South African exiles and their British supporters after an appeal from African National Congress leader Albert Luthuli. Its initial focus was straightforward consumer action: encouraging people in Britain not to buy South African goods and thereby withdraw economic and social support from a racially discriminatory state. The Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960, in which South African police killed 69 unarmed demonstrators, transformed the organisation’s remit. The Boycott Movement adopted the name Anti-Apartheid Movement and broadened its work from consumer activism into a coordinated campaign for the diplomatic, economic, sporting, academic and cultural isolation of apartheid South Africa. The movement operated through a national office in London, regional committees, local groups, affiliated trade unions, churches, student organisations, political parties and community associations. Scottish and Welsh structures developed distinctive programmes while remaining part of the wider British campaign. AAM activists sought to make apartheid a central issue in British public life and foreign policy. They lobbied Parliament, challenged commercial and sporting links with South Africa, promoted United Nations action, supported sanctions and publicised political repression. The organisation played an important role in the campaign that accompanied South Africa’s departure from the Commonwealth in 1961. It also helped press the International Olympic Committee to exclude South Africa from the Olympic movement, a process that led to suspension from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and eventual expulsion in 1970. The movement’s work extended beyond formal sanctions advocacy. In 1965 it helped initiate a British academic boycott of racially segregated South African universities. In the 1970s and 1980s it campaigned against corporate involvement in apartheid, including the Boycott Barclays campaign, and built alliances with local authorities, churches, trade unions and anti-racist organisations. Its most visible later campaign was Free Nelson Mandela. Through concerts, marches, city-council resolutions, street renamings and political lobbying, the AAM made Mandela a global symbol of resistance. The 1988 Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute at Wembley Stadium and associated Freedom at 70 events brought the campaign to a mass audience; the concert was broadcast internationally and the movement’s British membership rose sharply during the year. The AAM did not operate as a commercial brand and had no conventional products, shareholders or parent company. Its principal offerings were campaigns, information, political coordination and solidarity work. Its influence came from combining grassroots mobilisation with international advocacy, especially cooperation with the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid and the African National Congress in exile. Although Western governments, including successive British governments, often resisted comprehensive sanctions, the movement helped alter public opinion and increase the political and reputational cost of supporting the apartheid regime. After South Africa held multiracial elections in 1994 and majority rule was established, the organisation changed its name to ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa. The Anti-Apartheid Movement therefore ended as a distinct organisational identity in 1994, while its successor continued work connected with southern Africa. Its historical significance lies in showing how a national solidarity organisation could link consumer boycotts, cultural activism, institutional pressure and international diplomacy into a sustained transnational campaign.

The Anti-Apartheid Movement originated as the Boycott Movement, founded in London on 26 June 1959 by South African exiles and British supporters. Its creation followed Albert Luthuli’s appeal for people outside South Africa to withdraw their support from apartheid by refusing to purchase South African products. The early campaign attracted students, trade unionists and members of Labour, Liberal and Communist organisations. A major public mobilisation, known as March Month, culminated in a Trafalgar Square rally on 28 February 1960. The Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960, when police killed 69 unarmed protesters, marked a decisive turning point. The organisation adopted the Anti-Apartheid Movement name and broadened its objective from a consumer boycott to the coordination of all British anti-apartheid activity. It pursued economic sanctions, diplomatic isolation, sporting exclusion, academic boycotts and wider public education. The AAM’s work was especially important in Britain because the United Kingdom maintained substantial commercial, financial and political links with South Africa. In 1961 the movement campaigned around South Africa’s position in the Commonwealth and maintained a prolonged vigil during the Commonwealth discussions. South Africa subsequently left the Commonwealth. The AAM also supported United Nations action. After the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 1761 in 1962, the organisation helped organise the 1964 International Conference for Economic Sanctions Against South Africa in London. The conference argued that sanctions were lawful, necessary and practicable, although the British and United States governments continued to resist comprehensive economic measures. Sport became another important arena. Abdul Minty, who became the AAM’s honorary secretary in 1962, also worked with the non-racial South African Sports Association. Pressure on the International Olympic Committee contributed to South Africa’s suspension from the 1964 Olympics and its eventual exclusion from the Olympic movement in 1970. In 1965, the AAM helped initiate an academic boycott, supported by hundreds of British university academics protesting racial discrimination and restrictions on South African scholars. The organisation refined its international strategy in the mid-1960s by working more closely with the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid. It sought to isolate the South African regime, support the liberation movement, inform world opinion and build pressure in countries that continued to trade with or invest in South Africa. At home, its structure combined a London national office with local groups, regional committees and affiliated organisations. By the 1980s, local anti-apartheid groups existed in most British towns and cities. Scottish and Welsh committees adapted the campaign to their own political and cultural settings; the Welsh campaign, for example, challenged sporting links between the Welsh Rugby Union and apartheid South Africa. During the 1970s and 1980s the AAM campaigned against companies and financial institutions connected to South Africa and supported consumer boycotts such as Boycott Barclays. Its most successful public campaign was Free Nelson Mandela. Working with the ANC in exile, trade unions, churches, local councils and other solidarity groups, the AAM helped turn Mandela’s imprisonment into a central British and international political issue. Music and mass events expanded its reach, including the 1984 release of the Special A.K.A.’s song “Free Nelson Mandela,” the 1986 Freedom Festival at Clapham Common and the 1988 Wembley concert and Freedom March. The 1988 events attracted large crowds and international broadcast audiences, and AAM membership nearly doubled during that year. South Africa’s transition to democracy changed the organisation’s purpose. After the 1994 multiracial elections and the establishment of majority rule, the AAM changed its name to ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa. Its legacy includes the normalisation of public opposition to apartheid, the development of transnational boycott politics, the use of sporting and academic isolation as human-rights tools, and the creation of durable links among British civil society, African liberation movements and international institutions.

• 1994

  Renamed ACTSA

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The organisation adopted the name Action for Southern Africa after South Africa’s transition to majority rule.

• 1988

  Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The Wembley concert and associated Freedom at 70 programme made the Free Nelson Mandela campaign a global mass-media event.

• 1970

  South Africa expelled from the Olympic movement

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Sustained anti-apartheid sports campaigning contributed to South Africa’s eventual expulsion from the Olympics.

• 1965

  British academic boycott launched

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Hundreds of British academics pledged not to accept posts at South African universities operating under racial discrimination.

• 1964

  International sanctions conference

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The AAM helped organise a London conference examining the legality, practicality and international consequences of sanctions against South Africa.

• 1961

  South Africa leaves the Commonwealth

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  The AAM campaigned during Commonwealth discussions and regarded South Africa’s departure as an early major victory.

• 1960

  Renamed Anti-Apartheid Movement

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  After the Sharpeville massacre, the organisation expanded its mission to coordinate broad political and public action against apartheid.

• 1959

  Boycott Movement established

  [1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  South African exiles and British supporters founded the organisation in London on 26 June as a campaign against the purchase of South African goods.

A broad-based anti-racist solidarity movement using public mobilisation, boycotts, institutional isolation and international advocacy to oppose apartheid and support South Africa’s liberation struggle.

• Public campaign · 1959

  Consumer boycott campaigns

  The movement’s original activity was encouraging consumers to avoid South African goods. The boycott translated opposition to apartheid into everyday action and provided a simple entry point for students, churches, trade unions, political groups and local campaigners.

• Solidarity campaign

  Free Nelson Mandela campaign

  This campaign demanded Nelson Mandela’s release and connected his imprisonment to the wider struggle against apartheid. It used political lobbying, council resolutions, street renamings, marches, concerts and cooperation with trade unions, churches and the ANC in exile.

• Institutional boycott · 1965

  Academic boycott

  The AAM helped coordinate opposition to racially segregated South African higher education. A 1965 declaration signed by 496 academics from 34 British universities protested restrictions on scholars and pledged not to accept posts at institutions practising racial discrimination.

• Sports boycott · 1962

  Sports isolation campaign

  Working with non-racial South African sporting organisations, the movement challenged South Africa’s participation in international sport. Its pressure contributed to Olympic suspension and later exclusion, while national campaigns targeted sporting bodies that maintained links with apartheid institutions.

• 1989Welsh sporting-links campaign

  Wales · South Africa

  The Welsh Anti-Apartheid Movement challenged the Welsh Rugby Union’s relationships with apartheid South Africa.

  Outcome. The Welsh Rugby Union broke its ties with the South African Rugby Board.

  Source
• 1988Freedom at 70

  United Kingdom · International

  The programme combined the Wembley Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, a Glasgow rally, a five-week Freedom March and a Hyde Park rally.

  Outcome. The events reached a global television audience and helped nearly double AAM membership during 1988.

  Source
• 1986Freedom Festival

  United Kingdom

  Artists Against Apartheid organised a large public event at Clapham Common in London to support Mandela’s release and the wider liberation campaign.

  Outcome. The event expanded the campaign’s cultural and public profile.

  Source
• 1980Free Nelson Mandela

  United Kingdom · International

  The AAM worked with civic, religious, labour and political partners to demand Mandela’s release and promote the end of apartheid.

  Outcome. Mandela became a widely recognised symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle.

  Source
• 1965Academic Boycott of South Africa

  United Kingdom · South Africa

  British academics protested university segregation and bans imposed on South African scholars Jack Simons and Eddie Roux.

  Outcome. The declaration helped establish academic isolation as a continuing anti-apartheid pressure tactic.

  Source
• 1962Sports boycott campaign

  International

  The movement presented evidence of racial discrimination in South African sport to the International Olympic Committee and supported non-racial sporting bodies.

  Outcome. South Africa was suspended from the 1964 Olympics and expelled from the Olympic movement in 1970.

  Source
• 1961Commonwealth isolation campaign

  Commonwealth countries · United Kingdom

  The AAM organised a 72-hour vigil and lobbied during discussions over South Africa’s continued Commonwealth membership.

  Outcome. South Africa left the Commonwealth.

  Source
• 1960March Month

  United Kingdom

  A public mobilisation against apartheid culminated in a major Trafalgar Square rally on 28 February.

  Outcome. The campaign demonstrated cross-party and civil-society support before the organisation broadened its remit after Sharpeville.

  Source
• 1959Boycott South African Goods

  United Kingdom

  The founding campaign asked British consumers to stop buying South African products and withdraw material support from apartheid.

  Outcome. It established the movement’s public base and was later incorporated into a wider isolation strategy.

  Source

• 1994

  Change name to Action for Southern AfricaStrategy

  Background

  South Africa’s first inclusive national elections and transition to majority rule changed the political circumstances that had defined the AAM.

  Action taken

  The organisation adopted the name ACTSA: Action for Southern Africa.

  Aftermath

  The Anti-Apartheid Movement ceased operating under its former name and its successor continued southern African solidarity work.

  Source

• 1966

  Prioritise cooperation with the United NationsStrategy

  Background

  Western governments had resisted comprehensive sanctions, limiting the effectiveness of purely government-to-government lobbying.

  Action taken

  The AAM developed an international campaign strategy centred on cooperation with the UN Special Committee against Apartheid while continuing to support sanctions and liberation movements.

  Aftermath

  The partnership with the UN became a foundation for subsequent international anti-apartheid advocacy.

  Source

• 1960

  Expand from consumer boycott to comprehensive isolationStrategy

  Background

  The Sharpeville massacre demonstrated the scale of state violence and led activists to reconsider a campaign limited to consumer purchasing.

  Action taken

  The organisation adopted the Anti-Apartheid Movement name and coordinated economic, political, sporting, academic and cultural action.

  Aftermath

  The AAM became a broad national and international solidarity organisation rather than a single-issue boycott group.

  Source

• 1994

  AAM becomes ACTSA[1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Following South Africa’s multiracial elections and transition to majority rule, the organisation changed its name to Action for Southern Africa.

• 1988

  AAM intensifies Free Nelson Mandela mobilisation[1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Campaign

  The Wembley tribute concert, Freedom March and related events generated unprecedented attention and contributed to a major increase in AAM membership.

• 1960

  Organisation renamed Anti-Apartheid Movement after Sharpeville[1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Sharpeville massacre prompted the organisation to expand from consumer action into a broad campaign for apartheid’s international isolation.

• 1959

  Boycott Movement founded in London[1]Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  South African exiles and British supporters established the organisation as a consumer boycott campaign responding to Albert Luthuli’s appeal.

1. 1Anti-Apartheid Movementen.wikipedia.org