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Reading: Primary Sources

Trevor Noah

Trevor Noah (video): Born and raised in South Africa, Trevor Noah used his mother’s influence to turn the painful stories from his life into a unique voice on the international comedy circuit. But how did his tumultuous upbringing land him in a position to fill Jon Stewart’s shoes on “The Daily Show,” one of the most sought-after jobs in all of late night television? Public Broadcasting Service, 2018. From Alexander Street Videos. 

Trevor Noah Videos: Link to the comedian and author's videos from his website.

Life Under Apartheid

 Photograph of young South African man looking into the camera and showing his passbook issued by the GovernmentPBS Primary Source Inquiry Kit: Life Under Apartheid: This inquiry kit has Library of Congress sources about the history of apartheid and South Africa's racial segregation policies.

 

UN Photo, 1985

Women in the Anti-Apartheid Movement

Film still of South African women protestingYou Have Struck a Rock! (video): The title of this video references the South African proverb says that “When you have touched a woman, you have struck a rock.” This program documents the special contribution of South African women to the ending of apartheid with their massive, nonviolent civil disobedience movement. California Newsreel, 1981. From PSCC Films on Demand.

Anti-Apartheid Archives and Collections

Community Video Education Trust: Documentary Footage of the Anti-Apartheid Struggle: a digital archive of videos taken in South Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The raw footage available on this website documents anti-apartheid demonstrations, speeches, mass funerals, celebrations, and interviews wIllustrated poster of man carrying hurt child and the words Soweto: Crimes against Humanity surrounding himith activists.                                                          African Activist Archive, 1978

African Activist Archive:  Michigan State University archive which preserves and makes available online records of U.S. activism to support the struggles of African peoples against colonialism, apartheid, and social injustice from the 1950s through the 1990s. 

Mandela's Struggle in Posters: New York Times multimedia feature.            

Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives: Forward to Freedom: the History of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement, 1959-1994. 
Photograph of four children standing on a sidewalk with the word Amandla spray-painted on the wall behind them.
United Nations Photo Archive: Apartheid in South Africa: Collection of UN photos documenting apartheid.                           

Digitized Collections from Wits University: Access digitized collections and selected documents from University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.                                                                                           UN Photo, 1982

South African History

African National Congress: The governing social democratic political party of the Republic of South Africa. Use the "Document" tab to find articles, the constitution, declarations, letters, manifestos, speeches, and more.

Nelson Mandela Digital Archives: Collections of digital resources related to the life and work of Nelson Mandela.

Film still of a young South African woman giving testimony during the Truth and Reconciliation trial while two people sitting behind her watch.

Statistics South Africa Online: Official website for the Republic of South Africa's Department of Statistics.

TRC Special Report Series, 1996-1998: A listing of the episodes of the TRC Special Report series that aired every week between 21 April 1996 and 29 March 1998, produced and presented by Max du Preez

Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Full text transcripts of amnesty and special hearings, press releases, and other important primary documents.