Interview with Orlando Redekopp
Title
Interview with Orlando Redekopp
Subject
This interview discusses Redekopp's childhood and background before covering his anti-apartheid work in Africa and in Chicago.
Description
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 introduced to the freedom singing, toi-toing, fiery speeches, a couple of white people. I mean there were a few more than us but, my memory is my wife and I, we were the only white people in a sea of black faces. They were angry, and wow, this just- It didn’t scare us, it was just like wow, this, this is a whole new world and this is like, you’ve got to get engaged with this. And so that was like a, just, you got to move with this. Something is going on here. I mean, bigger than we’d ever anticipated."
"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 introduced to the freedom singing, toi-toing, fiery speeches, a couple of white people. I mean there were a few more than us but, my memory is my wife and I, we were the only white people in a sea of black faces. They were angry, and wow, this just- It didn’t scare us, it was just like wow, this, this is a whole new world and this is like, you’ve got to get engaged with this. And so that was like a, just, you got to move with this. Something is going on here. I mean, bigger than we’d ever anticipated."
Source
You can listen to this interview or download a transcript via Columbia's Digital Commons also housing the Orlando Redekopp Collection .
Duration
88 minutes
Interviewer
Balin Pagadala
Interviewee
Orlando Redekopp
Collection
Citation
“Interview with Orlando Redekopp,” The Chicago Anti-Apartheid Movement Collection, accessed May 16, 2024, https://caamcollection.omeka.net/items/show/6.