Non-Stop Against Apartheid: Practicing Solidarity Outside the South African Embassy

Abstract

From April 1986 to February 1990, the supporters of the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group [City Group] maintained a Non-Stop Picket outside the South African Embassy in London calling for the release of Nelson Mandela. Whilst the Non-Stop Picket was one of the most visible expressions of British anti-apartheid activism at the time, the Picket was never endorsed by the national Anti-Apartheid Movement. Positioned on the pavement directly outside South Africa House, the Picket was strategically placed to draw attention to apartheid and bring pressure to bear on the regime's representatives and allies in the UK. The Embassy repeatedly brought pressure on the British Government to ban the protest, and for nearly two months in 1987 (6th May–2nd July), the Picket was removed from outside the Embassy by the Metropolitan Police. During this period, the Picket relocated to the steps of nearby St Martin-in-the-Fields Church and activists repeatedly risked arrest to break the police ban and defend their right to protest outside the Embassy.

Keywords:

• Anti-apartheid
• protest camps
• solidarity
• Non-Stop Picket
• City of London Anti-Apartheid Group

Acknowledgements

This research was enabled by a Research Project Grant (RPG-072) from the Leverhulme Trust and a small grant from the Human Geography Research Fund at the University of Leicester. The authors thank all the former City Group activists who have participated in our research to date.