The story of Amandla! Radio
Frustrated by mainstream media coverage of South Africa, in 1987 members of the McGill South Africa Committee in Montréal approached the campus radio station, CKUT, to create a news and analysis show that would bring greater depth, breadth and analysis to coverage of South Africa and the anti-apartheid movement. They were given a prime-time spot on Wednesday evenings, and Amandla! Radio was born. The show ran for over three decades, expanding its coverage to the entire continent, with programming in English and French. By the time it wound down its operations in 2023, dozens of people from the four corners of the earth had had a hand in contributing to the show. It was Canada’s longest running African current affairs radio show. Amandla ngawethu is Zulu for Power to the People!
The genesis of this series
After the death of Nelson Mandela in December 2013, then Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, flanked by a delegation of politicians, attended Madiba’s funeral. They went there claiming credit for what Canada had done to end apartheid and free Mandela. The Amandla! Radio team and former anti-apartheid activists everywhere in Canada were incensed at this rewriting of Canada’s less than honourable involvement during the liberation struggle. Amandla! responded with a two-hour radio tribute that brought together activists from across the country to talk about what Nelson Mandela meant to them; what they had done during the struggle; and to reflect on Canada’s constant refusal to take strong action against the racist regimes in Southern Africa. The activists’ stories were riveting, unique and articulate. They clearly conveyed the role successive Canadian governments had actually played during the struggle to end apartheid or decolonize Rhodesia and Portugal’s colonies. They also captured the popular mobilization, international solidarity, and creative organizing that were the hallmarks of the movement. The broadcast was distributed across the Canadian community radio network. The weave of voices was so moving and inspiring that the show went on to be nominated for a national radio award. The producers walked out of the studio that night knowing those voices and stories had to be preserved so that others could drink from that mighty well. What followed was years of tracking down and recording activists’ recollections in order to create an archive for posterity, to be used by teachers, students, historians, journalists, and the generally curious. To keep this vital story in the public eye, and remind us what we are capable of when we take a principled stand. This audio documentary series is a fruit of that labour.
Small Little Foot Soldiers was produced by Pierre Loiselle, Gwen Schulman, Doug Miller and the Amandla! Radio Collective at CKUT FM in Montreal. Content consultants were Amy Kaler, Dan O’Meara, Andrew Schofield and Suzanne Smythe. Original musical score and voice direction by Chimwemwe Miller. Narrated by Thato Molete, with additional narration by Chimwemwe Miller and Sophie Toupin. Website by Teodoro Zamudio and Rylan Kafara. Graphic design by Frank Mulvey and promotion by André Goulet and the Harbinger Media Network. Supported by a Radiometers grant from the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
Acknowledgments
To begin with, profound thanks are due to all the activists across the country and beyond who took the time to share their stories with us, including those whose accounts are not featured in the documentary—but are as relevant, fascinating and precious. Their full stories and biographies are in the interview section of this website. Please check them out! You will not be disappointed.
We also tip our hat to the generations of Amandla! Radio contributors who matured the show to the point that we were able to produce this documentary.
Thanks as well to the wonderful staff at CKUT, with a special shout out to Spencer Gilley, Rosemane Gagnon, Patrick Goddard, Sophie Marisol, Jack Solar, and Em D’Orazio, our web designer Teo Zamudio, and our promotions coordinator André Goulet. We are grateful to Frank Mulvey for lending his graphic design talent for the creation of the promotional material.
A big thank you to the Community Radio Fund of Canada for gracing this project with a Radiometres grant that helped oil the wheels of this production.
Many, many friends, supporters and volunteers kept us ticking over the last two years in many wonderful ways, from hosting writing retreats, to feeding us, advising us, providing financial and technical assistance, and well beyond.
They include:
Ilona Andrassy
Jane Armstrong
Nora Barrows-Friedman
Mark Beauchamp
Sarah Bild
Vagner Castilho
Natasha DeCruz
Trish Duff
Ole Gjerstad
Terna Gyuse
Rylan Kafara
Molly Kane
Avi Kanji
Alex Khasnabish
Jaclyn Lee
Rhonda Lee
Madeline Lines
Julien Loiselle
Firoze Manji
Laurence Martel
Blair Rutherford
Nellie Saka
Sarah Schulman
Andrea Smith
James Stewart
Sophie Toupin
Scott Townsend
Brenda Wall
Manzah-Kyentoh Yankey
Last but not least, we wish to thank all of the courageous activists today who are pursuing the struggle to achieve a world that embraces all of us with respect.
Small Little Foot Soldiers was produced by Pierre Loiselle, Doug Miller, Gwen Schulman and the Amandla! Radio Collective at CKUT FM in Montreal. Content consultants were Amy Kaler, Dan O’Meara, Andrew Schofield and Suzanne Smythe. Original musical score and voice direction by Chimwemwe Miller, narration by Thato Molete, with additional narration by Chimwemwe Miller and Sophie Toupin.
