Research Catalog

Spear of the nation

Title
Spear of the nation [videorecording] / Thames Television in association with the International Broadcasting Trust.
Publication
San Francisco, CA : California Newsreel, 1986.

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StatusFormatAccessCall NumberItem Location
Moving imageBy appointment only VTH 2018 SOffsite

Details

Additional Authors
  • Stuttard, Ian.
  • Tereshchuk, David.
  • Thames Television, ltd.
Description
1 videocassette (52 min.) : sd.,col.; 1/2 in.
Summary
While some regard the African National Congress (ANC) as the next government of the free South Africa, or at the very least a vital group in the negotiation process, others consider it a dangerous terrorist group which must be routed at all cost. This documentary charts the history of the "oldest liberation movement on the continent of Africa" and includes interviews, some shot clandestinely in South Africa, with ANC president Oliver Tambo, ANC leaders, Albertina Sisula, Thabo Mbeki, Pallo Jordan and ANC military chief, Joe Slovo. The ANC was founded at the turn of the century in response to the consolidation of white power following the Boer Wars and to ease inter-tribal conflict. In 1912, the Act of Union excluded Blacks from governmental participation; the Native Land Act allowed for the appropriation of Black land and imposed the restrictive pass system to curtail the movements of the Black population. With the outbreak of World I, Black South Africans joined the war effort but were refused the right to bear arms. At the Versailles Peace Talks, ANC petitions for sovereignty were ignored. In the 1920's, the ANC led organized protests against the pass system and entered an alliance, albeit shortlived, with the Communist Party. The growing conservatism of the ANC leadership resulted in the formation of the more radical Youth League led by Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisula and Nelson Mandela. In 1948, this new leadership organized bus boycotts and mass anti-apartheid demonstrations. These were met by brutal repression by the white minority government. In response to the drafting of the 1955 Freedom Charter, the government ordered the arrest of 156 people on the charge of treason. On March 21, 1960, the government's violent suppression of a Pan Africanist Congress protest culminated in the Sharpeville Massacre. Referring to this bloody episode, Nelson Mandela, in 1961, commented on the futility of non-violent methods and considered the necessity of guerrilla warfare. The ANC military wing, "spear of the nation" embarked on a campaign of sabotage. In 1963, Mandela was charged with 200 counts of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. In recent years, the ANC has seen the growth of youth-centered activism and the escalation of violence in the Black townships. ANC leaders have also appealed to the international community to impose sanctions against South African industry. In concluding statements, Oliver Tambo regretfully remarks that "rivers of blood will flow" before apartheid is completely eradicated.
Subjects
Credits (note)
  • Producers, directors, Ian Stuttard, David Tereshchuk; writer, David Tereshchuk; camera, Bill Boswell.
Title
Spear of the nation [videorecording] / Thames Television in association with the International Broadcasting Trust.
Imprint
San Francisco, CA : California Newsreel, 1986.
Credits
Producers, directors, Ian Stuttard, David Tereshchuk; writer, David Tereshchuk; camera, Bill Boswell.
Performer
David Tereshchuk.
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Added Author
Stuttard, Ian.
Tereshchuk, David.
Thames Television, ltd.
Branch Call Number
VTH 2018 S
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