Published In
Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-2016
Subjects
Anti-apartheid Movements, Race, Social Classes, Social Sciences -- Research, Social Justice, Anti-racism
Abstract
This paper argues that in order to understand the anti-Apartheid campaign in Portland, Oregon it must be located within the particular socio-historical context of race and racism in the city and state. Thus, Black people living in Portland had good reason to compare the Apartheid system in South Africa to their own experience. Therefore, the confluence of national and local issues that move the local anti-Apartheid campaign forward is examined; the paper documents the rise and development of critical organizations in the anti-Apartheid campaign in Portland; the paper focus on the closure of the Honorary South Africa Consulate in downtown Portland and the passing of South Africa divestment legislation at the state level which paralleled actions of the national movement. This study is based on an analysis of historical documents, and interviews with four prominent community activists and politicians regarding their participation. In conclusion, it is argued that this research is important because there is little scholarship of the anti-Apartheid movement in the Northwest region of the U.S., and even less on the role Black people in the state of Oregon played in the anti-apartheid movement.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/26656
Citation Details
Johnson, E. (2016). “Black Americans and the South African Anti-Apartheid Campaign in Portland, Oregon.” Journal of Pan-African Studies (online). Vol. 9, No. 10: 159-184.