How the Congressional Black Caucus, Randall Robinson, and organizers built power and strategically navigated Washington’s power players to push through sanctions against apartheid South Africa.
Very good piece. What I would add, however, is that the anti-apartheid movement in the USA became a VERY broad front. There were different positions on strategy and tactics, but the movement largely held together. The pro-Palestinian movement in the USA suffers from significant sectarian divisions plus, on the part of some, an assumption that mass opposition to Biden's policies will automatically result in a shift by the Administration. The anti-apartheid movement in the USA that surfaced in the 1980s was the result of work that started after World War II before there was "apartheid" but when there was still colonial oppression of the Black majority in South Africa. It was the work of various organizations, such as the Council on African Affairs, the American Committee on Africa, and countless others leading up to the formation of TransAfrica and--ultimately--the Free South Africa Movement, that made the shift in US policy possible, thereby demonstrating popular solidarity with the people of South Africa. The anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s would not have happened had there not been this work AND had there not been a broad movement in South Africa that reemerged after the Soweto uprising. While there are important differences between the Palestinian and South African freedom struggles, your essay correctly points out lessons that can be drawn in the interests of building a more massive and powerful pro-Palestinian movement in the USA. Thank you.
Very good piece. What I would add, however, is that the anti-apartheid movement in the USA became a VERY broad front. There were different positions on strategy and tactics, but the movement largely held together. The pro-Palestinian movement in the USA suffers from significant sectarian divisions plus, on the part of some, an assumption that mass opposition to Biden's policies will automatically result in a shift by the Administration. The anti-apartheid movement in the USA that surfaced in the 1980s was the result of work that started after World War II before there was "apartheid" but when there was still colonial oppression of the Black majority in South Africa. It was the work of various organizations, such as the Council on African Affairs, the American Committee on Africa, and countless others leading up to the formation of TransAfrica and--ultimately--the Free South Africa Movement, that made the shift in US policy possible, thereby demonstrating popular solidarity with the people of South Africa. The anti-apartheid movement of the 1980s would not have happened had there not been this work AND had there not been a broad movement in South Africa that reemerged after the Soweto uprising. While there are important differences between the Palestinian and South African freedom struggles, your essay correctly points out lessons that can be drawn in the interests of building a more massive and powerful pro-Palestinian movement in the USA. Thank you.
Also, did the former Apartheid regime have a well-funded lobby group equivalent to AIPAC?