Art Against Apartheid Physical Archives

Description: The collection contains personal papers of Frances E. Williams from 1965 to 1995 relating to her professional career as an actress, personal/cultural interests, community involvements, and to a larger extent her political activism. As a political activist, she was one of the first black women to run for the California State Assembly in 1948 on the Progressive Party ticket. The bulk of the material covers the years between 1975 and 1986 when Williams was active in the anti-apartheid and communist solidarity movements taking place in the greater Los Angeles area. Series 9 (1975-1989) of the collection covers her anti-apartheid activism. This series well documents Williams' involvement in the South African anti-apartheid movement, especially as it pertains to activities taking place in Los Angeles. The materials document great efforts made to prevent the building of the South African Consulate in Century City/Los Angeles through petitions, rallies, and meetings. As the chairperson of National Anti-Imperialist Movement on Solidarity with African Liberation (NAIMSAL), Los Angeles Office, Williams was in close correspondence with the American Committee on Africa and the Washington Office on Africa, uniting their efforts to fight against apartheid in South Africa and elsewhere in Africa. She was a co-founder of Art Against Apartheid. She also represented the World Peace Council at the first Angola Independence Celebration in 1975 and co-founded the Art Against Apartheid Movement in Los Angeles. Although Williams' attendance at the international conferences cannot be determined, the section on Conferences includes comprehensive reports from the a series conferences. Materials suggest that Williams was peripherally involved in efforts to fight for equality in sports and humanitarian aid for African children. The flyers, mailings, and publications primarily consist of announcements of events, rallies, and protests in support of the anti-apartheid movements taking place in area. The bulk of the newspaper clippings from the late 1970s are on Angola's fight for independence and the clippings from 1980s are mostly on anti-apartheid protests, South Africa, and Nelson Mandela.