Repression and Fortitude

Repression and Fortitude examines stories of fortitude in the face of repression. In the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, as the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa grew in scope and intensity, so too did the regime’s repression. It was brutal and relentless. There was physical repression—beatings, jailings, disappearances, assassinations. In short: terror. And there was the repression of information through a sophisticated propaganda campaign. Much like their counterparts in Southern Africa, activists in Canada showed grit and pushed back hard. They pushed back with culture: songs, poetry, plays… They pushed back with counter-propaganda: posters, flyers, newspapers, radio shows. Some pushed back by going underground, engaging in secret operations in Canada; or moving to southern Africa to join the clandestine struggle there.

Featuring anti-apartheid activists Charlie Angus, Marie-Hélène Bonin, Nigel Crawhall, Aziz Fall, Ole Gjerstad, Martha Gordon, George Hewison, Joanne, Jef Keighley, Ken Luckhardt, Doug Miller, Anne Mitchell, Joe Pillay, Andrew Schofield, Gwen Schulman, Suzanne Smythe, H. Nigel Thomas, Ken Traynor, Brenda Wall, and Marian White.