Oral Histories
Title
Oral Histories
Description
Between 2009 and the spring of 2010, Columbia College Chicago students conducted interviews with major figures in the Chicago anti-apartheid movement for a history class. These oral histories offer insights into the reactions of Americans to apartheid and how some local Chicagoans organized to fight the injustice.
Publisher
College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago
Collection Items
Interview with Alice Palmer
Notable Quote:
"And so we had a trial. We brought in Marge Benton, the late US Senator Paul Simon, um all kinds of folk to testify to the heinousness of Apartheid. ... We had brilliant lawyers who raised this defense, and we had a- a jury. And they…
"And so we had a trial. We brought in Marge Benton, the late US Senator Paul Simon, um all kinds of folk to testify to the heinousness of Apartheid. ... We had brilliant lawyers who raised this defense, and we had a- a jury. And they…
Interview with Clarice Durham
Notable Quote:
"I began to see the connections I felt that if Africa became free it would mean a lot for the black people here in the united states and vice versa if we were able to reach equality it would mean a lot people in Africa so I saw an…
"I began to see the connections I felt that if Africa became free it would mean a lot for the black people here in the united states and vice versa if we were able to reach equality it would mean a lot people in Africa so I saw an…
Interview with Cheryl Johnson-Odim
Notable Quote:
"Yeah, you know, it was really interesting. There’s nothing like being outside of this country, and having a major- you know, international event happen, and it’s just very different. I was in Nigeria when Soweto happened, and you…
"Yeah, you know, it was really interesting. There’s nothing like being outside of this country, and having a major- you know, international event happen, and it’s just very different. I was in Nigeria when Soweto happened, and you…
Interview with Lisa Ann Brock
Notable Quote:
[On why she became an activist]
"[F]or some reason, they felt compelled to fight against injustice. It’s a sord [sic] of compulsion and you do not, you know as I’ve gotten older, I’ve mellowed a little bit. It’s this idea that if…
[On why she became an activist]
"[F]or some reason, they felt compelled to fight against injustice. It’s a sord [sic] of compulsion and you do not, you know as I’ve gotten older, I’ve mellowed a little bit. It’s this idea that if…
Interview with Stan Willis
Notable Quote:
"But there was one demand that was made that school-the new school cause we knew that there was a new school gonna be built-that the new school be named after Malcolm X. So we started the struggle around the student demands but we…
"But there was one demand that was made that school-the new school cause we knew that there was a new school gonna be built-that the new school be named after Malcolm X. So we started the struggle around the student demands but we…
Interview with Orlando Redekopp
Notable Quote:
"Biko was killed so there was a memorial service, in the capital of Botswana, Cameroon. So we attended. And that was like, an immersion, because we were in this big auditorium with three, four, hundred South Africans. We were…
"Biko was killed so there was a memorial service, in the capital of Botswana, Cameroon. So we attended. And that was like, an immersion, because we were in this big auditorium with three, four, hundred South Africans. We were…
Interview with Willie Williamson
Notable Quote:
" [T]hen we went to a meeting and we found there was a petition being circulated to expel South Africa from the UN. And we sort of immersed ourselves into learning more about this and as a result of learning more about it we…
" [T]hen we went to a meeting and we found there was a petition being circulated to expel South Africa from the UN. And we sort of immersed ourselves into learning more about this and as a result of learning more about it we…