African Activist Archive

Contents: 11th ANNIVERSARY OF SOWETO NOTED • APRIL 25TH RALLY FOCUSED ON SOUTHERN AFRICA • MOZAMBIQUE INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATED • TECHNICAL EXCHANGE CONNECTS WITH THE PEOPLE • STATE DIVESTMENT BILL FAILS • WASHINGTON STATE DIVESTMENT 1987 • BASKETRY OF BOTSWANA • Freedom Calendar • The lead story is about the 11th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, where 20,000 students as young as 8-10 years old, led by teenagers, peacefully protested against apartheid education, including using Afrikaans as the language of instruction. The April 25th Mobilization, with mass rallies in San Francisco and Washington D.C., for the first time gave heavy emphasis to the connections between U.S. foreign policy in Central America and Southern Africa. Demands included "Boycott South Africa, Not Nicaragua!" and "No Aid to the Contras in Nicaragua and Angola!" On June 25, Mozambique will celebrate the anniversary of its independence from Portuguese colonial rule in 1975. Frelimo (Front for the Liberation of Mozambique) inherited a nation that was left with three doctors and a 97% illiteracy rate, and an economy dominated by South Africa. From the beginning, the new nation has been faced with a contra war funded primarily by the white South African regime. The People to People Technical Exchange Program supports Mozambique through exchange of technical equipment and information; program coordinator Tyree Scott recently helped organize shipment of an electrically-powered, hydraulic, brickmaking machine. The newsletter reported on the failure of the Washington State legislature to pass sanctions legislation. In the first round of legislation this year, three bills were introduced in the House by State Rep. Jesse Wineberry (D-43rd); in the Senate, seasoned veteran State Senator George Fleming reintroduced his bill. Senator Fleming's bill was defeated in the Senate 26-23; Rep. Wineberry's bill (HB-823) passed the House 75-21. The newsletter mentions police violence, the black workers' movement, Sharpeville, the ANC (African National Congress), Nelson Mandela, Robben Island, United Democratic Front (UDF), Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU), Congress of South African Students (COSAS), SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization), the colonial period, miners, SADF (South African Defence Force), armed gangs, Slim Rassmussen, Lois Stratton, Ray Moore, Kent Pullen, Stan Johnson, Norwood Brooks, Mike Ross, Bill McIntosh, and the Call to Conscience.

African Activist Archive

SWAAN Call

SOWETO 1976 - A New Awakening

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