Episodes

Awakenings traces the deeply personal moments that transformed ordinary people into committed activists in the global fight against apartheid. What prompted them to join the movement? Where and how did they first hear about apartheid? How did they get involved? Spanning the 1960s to 1990s, we hear from students, union members, churchgoers—all kinds of folks wearing multiple hats, or none at all. Their stories are as varied as they are engaging, and together create a layered quilt, at times comforting in its courage and humanity. One that invites community and solidarity. Featuring anti-apartheid activists Mary Boyd, May Chiu, Aziz Fall, Ole Gjerstad, Martha Gordon, Joanne, Amy Kaler, Doug Miller, Dan O'Meara, Andrew Schofield, Gwen Schulman, Stephen Seaborn, Suzanne Smythe, Rose Marie Whalley, and Hassan Yussuff.

Ideologies explores the ideas and ideals that drove the actions of the anti-apartheid movement. Activists across Canada came to the movement with different world views, different analyses and, indeed, different visions of what a free South Africa would look like. These differing ideologies were the result of personal histories, as well as regional and cultural differences. They were also born from the Cold War and from the ongoing ravages and legacies of settler colonialism in Southern Africa—and in Canada. For some activists, respect for human rights and racial equality was the road to the end of apartheid. Others were convinced that liberation would only come with the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism. And others just knew in their gut that apartheid was wrong, and wanted to do something about it. Featuring anti-apartheid activists Charlie Angus, Jane Armstrong, David Beer, Marie-Hélène Bonin, May Chiu, Nigel Crawhall, Aziz Fall, Sam Gindin, Ole Gjerstad, Vince Greason, Joanne, Amy Kaler, Ken Luckhardt, Doug Miller, Anne Mitchell, Dan O'Meara, Carol Phillips, Joe Pillay, Gwen Schulman, Jim Sinclair, Suzanne Smythe, Rose Marie Whalley, and Marian White.

Strategies looks at the tactics that anti-apartheid activists pursued. From kitchen table poster sessions to building campus divestment campaigns, boycotting granny smith apples, disrupting wine tastings, and hunting down sanctions busters, activists pulled out all the stops to build popular mobilization and solidarity—and to systematically knock the legs out from under the apartheid system. Featuring anti-apartheid activists Jane Armstrong, Barb Baer Pillay, Marie-Hélène Bonin, Mary Boyd, May Chiu, Nigel Crawhall, Aziz Fall, Sam Gindin, Ole Gjerstad, Martha Gordon, Vince Greason, Glen Gunning, Joanne, Amy Kaler, Jef Keighley, Ken Luckhardt, Doug Miller, Anne Mitchell, Dan O'Meara, Carol Phillips, Joe Pillay, Andrew Schofield, Gwen Schulman, Stephen Seaborn, Ken Traynor, Brenda Wall, and Rose Marie Whalley.

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.

Liberation and Legacy looks at how the movement’s clarion call in the 1980s to make South Africa ungovernable bore fruit. On February 2, 1990, the South African government bowed to pressure from within its borders and beyond, and dropped its ban on the African National Congress, the Pan Africanist Congress, the South African Communist Party and other liberation organizations. From there, the dominoes fell—one after another. Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were freed, and South Africa’s first ever non-racial elections were called for April 1994. It was a spectacular victory greeted with elation inside South Africa and out. But it was also a time of harrowing violence as the apartheid state sought to blunt the edges of the movement and shore up its power in the dwindling days of white rule, taking the country to the brink of civil war. Activists in Canada responded to the new era with new campaigns. Across the country, events were held to show support for anti-apartheid forces inside the country, and to raise money to ensure free and fair elections. Activists also called for international pressure on the apartheid state to stop its violence in the runup to the first non-racial elections. Featuring anti-apartheid activists Jane Armstrong, Barb Baer Pillay, David Beer, Marie-Hélène Bonin, Mary Boyd, May Chiu, John Clarke, Stéphane Corriveau, Nigel Crawhall, Aziz Fall, Ole Gjerstad, Martha Gordon, Vince Greason, Glen Gunning, George Hewison, Joanne, Amy Kaler, Jef Keighley, Ameth Lô, Ken Luckhardt, Doug Miller, Dan O'Meara, Andrew Schofield, Gwen Schulman, Stephen Seaborn, Suzanne Smythe, Ken Traynor, Marian White, and Hassan Yussuff.