Coke Sweetens Apartheid

Coke Sweetens Apartheid

This poster protests the Coca-Cola company's investment in South Africa. Coke was introduced in South Africa in 1938, before apartheid, and its products became popular rapidly. By the 1980s, Coke held 90% of the soft drink market in South Africa, and sales in the country amounted to 5% of their total worldwide sales. But because Coke had manufacturing facilities in South Africa, they submitted to the segregation of labor and housing that the government required. Protesters in the US and in other countries demanded that Coke provide better wages and equal opportunities for its workers, as well as divest itself from ownership in several facilities in South Africa.

College Archives & Special Collections, Columbia College Chicago