The African American Civil Rights Movement

Fifty years ago, in March 1965, the events at Selma, Alabama marked a turning point in the progress of the African American Civil Rights Movement. In this blogpost we will take a look at why the Selma Marches proved to be so significant and the background against which they took place.

A hundred years before the watershed events of 1965, the United States was coming to terms with the after effects of the American Civil War. The United States Constitution had been altered to abolish slavery via the Thirteenth Amendment, and this was passed and ratified before the close of 1865. However, there remained huge opposition to this measure in the Southern States where laws were introduced to severely restrict the civil rights of black people. The Jim Crow laws segregated the black population from white people and measures were also taken to prevent them from exercising their right to vote.

The Rabbit’s Foot Company of Pat Chappelle Placards of Negro Theatrical Company. Royal Geographical Society c.1908

Racial segregation operated across all areas of public life. The image above shows an advertisement for an all black vaudeville company which was run by Pat Chappelle at the beginning of the 20th century. He became famous for the excellence of the entertainment he provided despite the problems of performing to segregated audiences.

The US Army also practiced segregation; however, when the USA joined WWII in 1941, there was a need to enlist as many black people as possible to increase the available manpower. Frank Capra was tasked with producing a documentary style propaganda film which would motivate young black men to join up and fight for a nation which subjected them to oppression. The resulting film, ‘The Negro Soldier’, was very well received (click on the image below to watch in full) and portrayed African Americans in a heroic way, which was successful in influencing public opinion. Racial segregation within the army finally ended in 1948.

The Negro Soldier. Imperial War Museum (films) 1944

The Negro Soldier. Imperial War Museum (films) 1944

The Civil Rights Movement started to gather momentum during the Fifties and Sixties when cultural changes, following the end of WWII, brought about a greater awareness of the rights of the individual.

In December 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, after being ordered to do so by the bus driver. This incident, small in itself, catalysed the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Alabama) and started Martin Luther King‘s involvement with the Civil Rights Movement. Black people’s refusal to use the buses caused an economic crisis in the city, forcing the authorities to recognize them as a powerful force. Those involved in the boycott formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and they chose the 26 year old Martin Luther King to be their leader.

Civil Rights Legend Rosa Parks Getty (still images) 01-12-2001

Civil Rights Legend Rosa Parks
Getty (still images) 01-12-2001

A couple of years later the Civil Rights Movement came to the attention of the world’s press through the conflict at Little Rock Central High School, Arkansas. The Supreme Court had outlawed segregation in schools in 1954, however the Southern States continued to resist this legal ruling. In September 1957 Little Rock was due to accept its first intake of 9 black students, but there was a huge amount of hostility to this and an angry mob gathered by the school to prevent the students entering.

Police attempt to control a rowdy mob outside Little Rock Central High School Honours for a Great Innings: British Gaumont News 30-09-1957

Police attempt to control a rowdy mob outside Little Rock Central High School
Scenes from Little Rock: Honours for a Great Innings: British Gaumont News 30-09-1957

Black people and newspaper reporters suffered verbal abuse and violence over several days and this threatened to become a constitutional issue. For a short while the Arkansas Police were forced to restrain the ferocious mob (a role they did not relish as many were sympathisers), before President Eisenhower eventually despatched paratroopers to uphold federal law. Click on the image above to watch a compilation of film clips taken during this period. Start watching at 1minute 34 seconds into this British Gaumont clip.

Bayard Rustin speaks at the Civil Rights March in Washington 1963 Civil Rights March: ITV News 28-08-1963

Bayard Rustin speaks at the Civil Rights March in Washington 1963
Civil Rights March: ITV News 28-08-1963

The famous March on Washington took place on 28th August 1963, the main aim of which was to help President Kennedy’s Civil Rights Bill through Congress.  Over 200,000 black and white Americans took part in a peaceful demonstration. Click on the image above to see footage of the march and hear Bayard Rustin (one of the chief organisers) speak about what they hoped to achieve. The last speaker of the day was Martin Luther King, who delivered his now legendary “I have a dream” speech, which remains one of the greatest speeches of the 20th Century.

A landmark achievement took place 10 months later when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act 1964. This made racial segregation and discrimination illegal, as well as any attempt to restrict voter registration rights.

Malcom X Interview: ITV News 10-07-1964

Malcolm X warns about a potential blood bath in America. Malcom X Interview: ITV News 10-07-1964

Malcolm X, a muslim preacher, was another charismatic black leader who emerged at this time. Malcolm X held extreme views, believing that nothing short of separating blacks from whites (separatism) would allow black people to live fully independent lives. Click on the image above to hear him warn in July 1964 about the violence which might erupt as a result of the fast pace of social change in the USA.  He moderated his more extreme views following a visit to Mecca, where he realised that Islam could be a force for racial toleration. He was assassinated 7 months later on 21st February 1965 and it is generally believed that Nation of Islam (a group to which he had previously belonged) carried out the killing.

Martin Luther King talks about the Civil Rights Movement during a visit to the UK Luther King Interview: ITV News 21-09-1964

Martin Luther King talks about the Civil Rights Movement during a visit to the UK
Luther King Interview: ITV News 21-09-1964

In September 1964 Martin Luther King came to the UK to talk about his book ‘Why We Can’t Wait’. During an interview he was asked whether, as a moderate, he was worried about the effect extremist movements would have on his cause. Click on the image above to hear his response.

Martin Luther King speaks at City Temple Hall, London Negro Equality: ITV News 07-12-1964

Martin Luther King speaks at City Temple Hall, London
Negro Equality: ITV News 07-12-1964

The basic thing about a man is not …..the texture of his hair or the colour of his skin, but his eternal dignity and worth

Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for civil rights and social justice. On his way to Oslo to collect the prize he stayed in London, where he delivered a number of speeches on “Negro equality”. Click on the image above to see a clip from the speech he gave at City Temple Hall. This is followed by another piece of film taken on a different occasion (possibly a debate at the Oxford Union), of Malcolm X speaking of how ideas about race can no longer be seen from a European perspective.

Three months later, violent events in Selma (Alabama) would focus world attention on the continuing struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. The proposed marches from Selma to Montgomery were intended as a peaceful protest against the continuing discrimination which existed to prevent black people from voting. The Governor of Alabama, George C.Wallace, was determined the marches should not happen. The first march ended on the Edmund Pettus Bridge (a short distance from the starting point) when State Troopers attacked unarmed marchers with tear gas and clubs. When pictures of beaten bodies were broadcast across the world, many felt this represented a turning point for the Civil Rights Movement.

James Reeb is interviewed before the second Selma March. He died the next day following an attack. Selma Marchers: Alabama: ITN Reports 10-03-1965

James Reeb is interviewed before the second Selma March. He died the next day following an attack by white segregationists.
Selma Marchers: Alabama: ITN Reports 10-03-1965

The second march took place two days later and was supported by many white groups, including a band of clergymen who had been attending a conference. Martin Luther King led the march to the end of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but no further so as not to violate a court injunction put in place by Governor Wallace. The State Troopers again blocked the way ahead but the marchers stopped to pray and then turned around and returned. There was no violence at this point, but later in the evening three clergymen were beaten by white segregationists on leaving a non-segregated restaurant. By coincidence, one of these clergymen (James Reeb) had been interviewed by ITN earlier that day, however he died from his injuries hours later. Click on the image above to watch ITN coverage of the day’s events.

Martin Luther King is interviewed as he marches ITN Reports : 24-03-1965

Martin Luther King is interviewed by Peter Woods during the Third Selma March
Selma March Takes Place: ITN Reports 24-03-1965

The Third Selma March began on 21st March and this time President Johnson did everything possible to protect the marchers, since Governor Wallace had refused to do so. The State troops were put under federal control and the US Army was brought in along with FBI agents and Federal Marshalls. Click on the image above to watch an ITN news report made during the march, which includes an interview with Martin Luther King.

The clip shows how segregationist propaganda was used along the way, in the form of billboards linking Martin Luther King to Communism and dropping leaflets calling on white employers to sack their black workforce. None of this could prevent the 54 mile march from being successfully completed and it is regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the African American Civil Rights Movement.

The resounding impact of this historic march provided the impetus for the passing of the Voting Rights Act in August 1965. This legislation protected all African Americans’ right to vote by banning literacy tests and minimising the fear of intimidation through federal supervision of the voting process. By removing this barrier to equality African Americans were able to participate in public and political life to a far greater extent and ensure their voices were much more widely heard.

Further Links:

A Recent History of Hung Parliaments and Coalition Governments

The imminent 2015 UK General Election is proving to be one of the most uncertain we have known; however in the recent past it was not uncommon to encounter hung parliaments where no single party had managed to gain the majority of seats. We thought it would be interesting to search through Jisc MediaHub for examples of where this had occurred, the personalities involved and what strategies had been used to form a working government.

Ramsay MacDonald: 1st Labour Prime Minister Who Is Who In Labour: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel    21-01-1924

Ramsay MacDonald: 1st Labour Prime Minister
Who Is Who In Labour: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel 21-01-1924

The general election held in 1923 resulted in a hung  parliament. Although most seats were won by Stanley Baldwin‘s Conservatives, Ramsay MacDonald went on to become the first Labour Prime Minister after forming a coalition with the waning Liberal party. The cartoon below shows the three candidates racing to the laurel crown: Baldwin with his trademark pipe; the Liberal leader, H.H.Asquith, being supported by David Lloyd George and Ramsay MacDonald being helped up the ladder to victory by the ‘working man’.

Cartoon impression of the 1923 General Election: The Political Race: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel: 03-12-1923

Cartoon impression of the 1923 General Election:
The Political Race: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel: 03-12-1923

Ramsay MacDonald’s term in office proved to be very short lived. Although he had some successes he found it increasingly difficult to keep Labour’s fragile coalition with the Liberals intact. This came to a head with the Campbell Case which led to allegations that the Labour Government was being influenced by communist groups. As the Bolshevik threat was a very real fear at the time, Conservatives and Liberals were able to unite and win a motion of ‘no confidence’ against Labour. Parliament was dissolved and another general election set for less than a year since the previous one. Click on the image below to see a very rudimentary animated carton drawn at the time.

Cartoon on the Oct 1924 General Election Gaumont Graphic Newsreel  27-10-1924

Cartoon on the Oct 1924 General Election
Gaumont Graphic Newsreel
27-10-1924

A mere 4 days before the 1924 general election a huge scandal erupted following the publication of the Zinoviev letter by the British Press. The letter, purporting to be from a senior Soviet called Grigory Zinoviev, urged the British Communist Party ‘to stir up the masses of the British proletariat’  in order to  pressurise the British Government into strengthening relations with the Soviet Union. This was political dynamite and dashed any hope of victory at the polls by Labour; although it is now accepted the letter was a forgery.

Stanley Baldwin won a decisive victory and went on to form a majority Conservative government which ran to full term. For him the previous coalition had ultimately proved beneficial, despite the fact he was locked out of power during that time.

Mr Stanley Baldwin, who will lead the greatest Conservative majority since 1832 Gaumont Graphic Newsreel: 03-11-1924

Mr Stanley Baldwin, who will lead the greatest Conservative majority since 1832
Gaumont Graphic Newsreel: 03-11-1924

There was a lot of excitement around the 1929 general election which was the first to take place under universal suffrage. It was called the ‘Flapper Election’  as it was the first time all women aged 21 and over were allowed to vote. This was reflected in frivolous press coverage including the rapidly developing medium of newsfilm. Click on the clip below to see young women rushing to the polling station straight from the public baths and still in their 1920’s swimming costumes. This time Ramsay Macdonald’s Labour Party won the most seats but did not have a majority and were forced to enter into another coalition with the Liberals, who were now lead by David Lloyd George.

Flappers make their way to the polling station All Around The May Poll: Gamont Graphic Newsreel 30-05-1929

Flappers make their way to the polling station
All Around The May Poll: Gamont Graphic Newsreel 30-05-1929

A few months later the Wall Street Crash set off the chain of events which would lead to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. MacDonald’s Government had to try and find solutions for rising unemployment and struggled to cope with the economic crisis. There was great division between the parties about the best way to promote growth and safeguard those in need, and our own experience of  the 2008 financial crisis very much reflects the same problems.

The unemployed march to Hyde Park to demand removal of Dole restrictions Hunger Trek Ends: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel  31-10-1932

The unemployed march to Hyde Park to demand removal of Dole restrictions
Hunger Trek Ends: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel 31-10-1932

After the upheaval of the World War II, subsequent general elections resulted in majority governments. In fact it was not until March 1974 that another hung parliament arose, following Edward Heath’s narrow defeat by Harold Wilson. In this unusual situation neither the Conservatives nor Labour could have made a coalition agreement with the Liberal Party to enable them to form an overall majority.  Again, this general election was held against the background of an economic crisis including the Miners’ Strike and the Three Day Week.

TedHeath1

Ted Heath grins uneasily as he leaves No.10. U.K.: Harold Wilson returns 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister after resignation of Edward Heath: Visnews 04-03-1974

Heath remained Prime Minister for a short while until his negotiations with the Liberals failed and he subsequently resigned. Harold Wilson was then invited to form a minority government. Click on the image above to watch scenes outside Downing Street as Edward Heath relinquished power. By this time he was an unpopular figure but nevertheless you may be surprised to witness  the amount of hostility shown by the gathering crowds. Nowadays access to Downing Street is restricted.

UK: Harold Wilson returns to Downing Street as Prime Minister after resignation of Edward Heath Visnews: 04-03-1974

UK: Harold Wilson returns to Downing Street as Prime Minister after resignation of Edward Heath
Visnews: 04-03-1974

This Labour minority government was not expected to last for long and Harold Wilson called another general election 7 months later at which Labour won a majority. Less than 18 months afterwards Wilson resigned unexpectedly, to be succeeded by Jim Callaghan until the next general election in 1979 when the Conservative’s swept to power with Margaret Thatcher.

Since then we grew used to a two party system in which UK politics was dominated by battles for power between the Conservatives and Labour. The global financial crisis of 2008 heralded a phase of great economic uncertainty which still continues today and  (along with changes to British society) has reshaped the political landscape. When Labour lost their majority in the general election of 2010  no single party had enough seats to form a government, resulting in the first Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition.

DavidCameron & Nick Clegg hold their first joint news conference Getty  (still images) 12-05-2010

DavidCameron & Nick Clegg hold their first joint news conference
Getty (still images) 12-05-2010

As we approach the General Election 2015 polling day we know the outcome is impossible to predict and we may already be at the forefront of an age of coalition governments which will change UK politics for the foreseeable future.

Further Links:

 

 

The King Lives on!

Elvis fans

Elvis Fans, PYMCA, 2005.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley – the King of Rock and Roll. Born to a modest background in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis became one of the biggest selling artists of the 20th century, selling more than one billion records. Elvis earned gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, as well as three Grammys and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Elvis never studied music formally. He sang at the Pentecostal church he attended as a child. Elvis’ devoted mother, Gladys, bought a guitar from the Tupelo hardware store for his eleventh birthday. Reports differ but apparently Elvis had either a rifle or a bicycle in mind.

After moving to Memphis at age 15, Elvis began to practise guitar regularly and absorbed R&B on Beale Street, the historic heart of the Memphis blues scene. Elvis came to the attention of Sam Philips, the boss of Sun Records in Memphis. After struggling to find the right track for Elvis, they struck gold on a 1954 late night recording session when Elvis started playing Arthur Crudup’s 1946 song, That’s All Right. Never released in the UK, That’s All right was remastered and re-released in 2004.

Watch this ITN News report from 2004 and see a ‘gaggle’ or a ‘pride’ of Elvis impersonators celebrate the re-release on a London bus:

50thaniversaryFirstElvisrecording

MUSIC: 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST ELVIS PRESLEY RECORDING, ITN News, 2004.

Radio appearances, touring and record releases led to regional success for Elvis and after offers from three major record labels, Elvis signed with RCA in November 1955.  Now managed by Colonel Thomas Parker, by 1956 Elvis was an international star. His 1956 hits included Heartbreak Hotel, Blue Suede Shoes, Don’t Be Cruel, Hound Dog, My Baby Left Me and Love Me Tender.

Elvis was idolised by teens but felt the wrath of many for what they considered his overly suggestive performances. On his final performance on the Ed Sullivan TV show, Elvis was only shown from the waist up! Watch this 1958 clip from 30 seconds in, to hear London teenagers interviewed about Elvis. Our favourite quote – “He sends me!”:

Elvis Presley Fans

 Elvis Presley Fans, ITN News, 1958.

Elvis also achieved commercial success in films, making his debut in 1956 in Love me Tender for 20th Century Fox. Watch this video for lots of fantastic images of Elvis filming Love me Tender:

Memories of Elvis by Music Historian Micheal Ochs

Memories of Elvis by Music Historian Michael Ochs, Getty Moving Images, 2007.

In 1960, on his return from 2 years of national service in Germany, Elvis stepped back from live performance. He spent much of the 1960s making movies, which were often accompanied by soundtrack albums of variable quality.

A punishing schedule, often filming three films a year, meant very few non-soundtrack albums were released. A notable exception was the 1967 gospel album, How Great Thou Art, which won him a Grammy. By 1968 Elvis has grown increasingly dissatisfied with his career. An acclaimed performance in a 1968 TV special marked the start of his return to successful recording and live performance.

Chart success and a series of Las Vegas residencies followed the 1968 TV comeback. Elvis maintained a prolific touring schedule from the late 1960s up to his death in 1977. Wary of the public and divorced from Priscilla in 1973, Elvis’ use of prescription drugs increased in his later years and his onstage presence was not what it had been.

Get an insight into Elvis’ life in the 1970s in a fascinating 1980s interview with his step-brother, David Stanley. Including lots of Elvis songs, this interview tells of life on the road with Elvis, the singer’s wealth, legendary generosity and his increasing reliance on prescription drugs.  David recounts how angry Elvis would get with him about his use of marijuana, being so anti-drug use that he was keen to send narcotics police to David’s school to round up the kids who were on drugs. The interview quotes Elvis:

“If there’s anything I’ve tried to do, I’ve tried to live a straight clean life, not set any kind of a bad example”.

David describes how Elvis’ drug use steadily increased from 1973, initially using prescription drugs to cope with the punishing touring schedule. According to David, Elvis had complete trust in the doctors that prescribed him sleeping tablets, amphetamines and barbiturates, an attitude that David ascribes to his poor background.

LBC/IRN Audio Archive logo

Life with Elvis, LBC/IRN Audio Archive, 1987.

 

Elvis died on August 16th 1977 at Graceland, the Memphis mansion he purchased in 1957. His death caused widespread shock and grief – see footage of fans paying their respects outside Graceland on the day after his death:

Elvis Presley Dies

Elvis Presley Dies, ITN News, 1977.

Almost forty years after his death, his appeal endures. Graceland was opened to the public in 1982 and annual visitor numbers are in the region of 600,000. Several single reissues achieved high positions in the UK and US charts in 2004 and 2005, following the dance remix of A Little Less Conversation that was used in a Nike advertising campaign in 2002.

His death also spawned a raft of Elvis tribute artists and impersonators. A 2011 Telegraph article has video footage of a contest, held on Elvis’ birthday, to find Japan’s best Elvis impersonator!

Elvis impersonator

Elvis Impersonator, PYMCA, 2003.

Birthday celebrations are planned in Tupelo (as reported by The Washington Times), Los Angeles, Graceland in Memphis and by lots of Elvis fan clubs around the globe.

If you can’t join in and feel the need of some Elvis action, let us leave you with this fun report on how it’s thought that Elvis’s ancestors came from Aberdeenshire in Scotland:

Elvis Presley Ancestors from Scotland

Elvis Presley Ancestors from Scotland, ITN News, 2004.

Further Resources:

 

The Troubled History of the Berlin Wall

 

A View of the Brandenburg Gate through barbed wire of the first Berlin Wall c.1961 Roving Report: The Gilded Cage 19-06-1963

A View of the Brandenburg Gate through barbed wire of the first Berlin Wall c.1961
Roving Report: The Gilded Cage 19-06-1963

Twenty five years ago one of the most extraordinary barriers ever constructed was torn down by the people it was designed to oppress. The Berlin Wall was built in 1961 to prevent East Germans reaching West Berlin, but to understand why it was put up in the first place we have to reach back to events following the end of WWII.

In May 1945 much of the great city of Berlin lay in ruins following intense bombardment by the Allies as they closed in to destroy Hitler and the power of the Third Reich. The image below shows children playing in the bombed out city. This deceptively jolly newsclip gives a flavour of conditions at the time.

The British Army relocates 50,000 children to the Western Sector of Berlin Looking after the children of Berlin: Gaumont British News 08-11-1945

The British Army relocates 50,000 children to the Western Sector of Berlin
Looking after the children of Berlin: Gaumont British News 08-11-1945

In line with the Potsdam Agreement the city was divided into sectors; one for each of the four Allies (Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the USA). Over the next two years tensions grew as the Soviets showed little inclination to rebuild their part of the city. The Allies, however, wished for a thriving new German economy to help Europe recover from the huge cost of the war. In addition Berlin was located in the heart of East Germany, one hundred miles behind the Iron Curtain, in the midst of the Eastern Bloc which was inveterately opposed to Capitalism.

The Soviets disrupt train travel of  Allied forces and civilians to West Berlin: The Berlin Crisis: Gaumont British News:  08-04-1948

The Soviets disrupt train travel of Allied forces and civilians to West Berlin:
The Berlin Crisis: Gaumont British News: 08-04-1948

By April 1948 the Soviets had begun to make life difficult for those in West Berlin. This clip from Gaumont British News shows how they disrupted rail traffic for those travelling to the Western Sector across East Germany. Soon a blockade was in place preventing the delivery of food and other materials. The attempts of the Soviets to starve out the West Berliners were foiled by the Allied Forces who ensured regular air deliveries of essential supplies. Click on the image below to see a newsclip showing how this was done. The Cold War had now begun in earnest.

Allied Forces break the Soviet Blockade by flying in food supplies Food Planes Fly to Berlin: Gaumont British News: 05-07-1948

Allied Forces break the Soviet Blockade by flying in food supplies
Food Planes Fly to Berlin: Gaumont British News: 05-07-1948

Over a year later the blockade was lifted, but this was only the beginning of problems that grew from the troubled relationship between the Soviets and the Allies. The East Germans themselves were experiencing many difficulties living in a Communist state with a poor economy and a crumbling infrastructure. This dramatic 1953 newsclip tells how riots broke out in protest at government threats to reduce wages; they were quickly and cruelly repressed.

East Germans riot against demands for increased productivity  Riots In Berlin: Gaumont British News: 22-06-1953

East German workers riot against demands for increased productivity
Riots In Berlin: Gaumont British News: 22-06-1953

Throughout the 1950s the contrast between the economies of West and East Germany became increasingly pronounced. West Berlin was a thriving place to live with high wages and a good standard of living; despite being completely surrounded by the Iron Curtain. Those in East Berlin had little chance to improve their lives and faced restricted personal freedoms, so it was not surprising that by 1957 a million had crossed the border to the West through West Berlin.

Willy Brandt, the charismatic Mayor of West Berlin talks about hopes for the future Berlin Today: Roving Report   20-11-1957

Willy Brandt, the charismatic Mayor of West Berlin, talks about hopes for the future
Berlin Today: Roving Report 20-11-1957

As the years went by the situation became more extreme. East Germans left for West Berlin in their droves to live in transit camps and seek a better life. This interesting Roving Report (Berlin Today) was made on location in 1957 and documents how the people in both sectors were dealing with their problems. As one West Berliner put it : “If we’d spent the last ten years worrying we’d have gone mad by now”.

Map showing the postion of Berlin within Soviet occupied East Germany Roving Report: How Many Germanies? 13-05-1959

Map showing the postion of Berlin within Soviet occupied East Germany
Roving Report: How Many Germanies? 13-05-1959

Another Roving Report made in 1959 asks the question, ‘How Many Germanies?’. Prompted by the forthcoming Geneva Conference, the programme looks at what Germans want now. Students talk about how they can’t really remember when Germany was one country anymore and they would rather keep the status quo than risk any armed conflict arising from the reunification initiative then being promoted by Britain and the USA. The Geneva Conference did not succeed in its aims and by the summer of 1961 a crisis point was reached.

The Divided City

The Divided City: Roving Report: 07-06-1961

Click on the image above to watch the Roving Report documentary ‘The Divided City‘ which examines living conditions and political attitudes in East and West Berlin in June 1961. The documentary shows the huge divide in lifestyle between the East and West Germans. How could the thriving capitalist sector of West Berlin continue to exist within a Marxist-Leninist East Germany? It was an anomaly the Soviets wished to erase and by the 13th August the turning point had come. On that day 50,000 East German troops constructed the first barbed wire wall around West Berlin within a few hours.

Allied Troops face East German forces at Checkpoint Charlie as the first Berlin Wall goes up Roving Reports: The Gilded Cage  19-06-1963

Allied Troops face East German forces at Checkpoint Charlie as the first Berlin Wall goes up on 13-08-1961
Roving Reports: The Gilded Cage 19-06-1963

The original wall was eventually reinforced by a second one of brick and concrete which extended around the entire perimeter of the Western sector. The sole aim of the Berlin Wall was to stop East Germans reaching West Berlin and from there defecting to the West.

Crisis In Berlin 1

East German guards putting up a section of the first wire wall Roving Report: Crisis in Berlin: 23-08-1961

Click on the image above to watch another excellent Roving Report (Crisis in Berlin) which was broadcast on 23-08-1961. You will hear the reaction of West Berliners; many of whom criticised Britain, France and the USA for taking no actions over the Wall. The mayor, Willy Brandt, wrote to President Kennedy declaring:

Berlin expects more than words…

So why did the West not act more assertively ?  It was thought the Soviets would not go to all the trouble of building the Wall if they had serious plans to take over West Berlin, which had been a persistent fear for over a decade. Nevertheless the situation was balanced on a knife’s edge and it was recognised that any movement of aggression by one side could spark off another great conflict, which was to be avoided at all costs.

Hugh Gaitskell talks about the how the West should react to the Berlin Wall: ITV News: 12-09-1961

Hugh Gaitskell talks about the how the West should react to the Berlin Wall:
ITV News: 12-09-1961

Click on the image above to hear Hugh Gaitskell, the leader of the Labour Party, discuss the fears and dangers the newly constructed Wall now posed. In a further interview  on 6th Jan 1962 Hugh Gaitskell  declared the Berlin Wall was “an appalling advertisement for Communism”.

If I were a communist propagandist I would regard this as about the biggest embarrassment I had to face…..

Prosperous West Berliners visit one of their 18 theatres Roving Report: The Gilded Cage   19-06-1963

Prosperous West Berliners visit one of their 18 theatres
Roving Report: The Gilded Cage 19-06-1963

This 1963 Roving Report documentary likens life in West Berlin to being in a gilded cage. The difference in lifestyle between the two sectors was impossible to reconcile. The film is particularly interesting due to an interview with some British exchange students who also visited the Soviet sector. A few days later President Kennedy came to Berlin and made his famous speech ‘Ich bin ein Berliner‘ to demonstrate his continuing support for West Berliners.

A method used by East German spies for smuggling microfilm  Roving Report: The Spy Catchers 12-12-1963

A method used by East German spies for smuggling microfilm
Roving Report: The Spy Catchers 12-12-1963

At this time the Cold War was at its height. In West Germany alone it was estimated there were 16,000 communist spies, many of whom worked in the capital, Bonn. Another Roving Report (‘The Spycatchers’) looks at the extent to which the Civil Service had been infiltrated and contains a very interesting feature on the Spycatchers Museum which was a training ground for West German Intelligence. It’s no coincidence the James Bond franchise started in 1962 and John le Carre’s book ‘The Spy who came in from the Cold’ was first published in 1963.

The House of Checkpoint Charlie: A bubble car used in a successful escape attempt. Channel 4 Berlin Wall B'ground:  08-08-1986

The House of Checkpoint Charlie: A bubble car used in a successful escape attempt.
Channel 4 Berlin Wall B’ground: 08-08-1986

The Wall remained in force for over 28 years and became a symbol of great human suffering. Many East Germans continued to try and escape through or over the Wall; some were successful and others died in the attempt. Click on the image above to watch a fascinating clip about the House of Checkpoint Charlie which displays some of the methods used to escape to West Berlin.

A view of the notorious 'Death Strip' where many were gunned down as they tried to cross the Wall

A view of the notorious ‘Death Strip’ where many were gunned down as they tried to cross the Wall: Channel 4 News: Berlin Wall Opening: 1st Anniversary 08-11-1990

By the late 1980s Mikhail Gorbachev‘s policies of Perestroika and Glasnost were bringing about radical economic and social reform within the Soviet Union. He also ensured the Soviet Union no longer controlled the governments of other Eastern Bloc countries which resulted in the end of the Cold War. Along with many other Eastern Bloc states, East Germany experienced a peaceful revolution against Soviet Communism during 1989 which resulted in freedom of movement to the West. And so it was on 9th November 1989 the East Germans unexpectedly discovered they were allowed to cross the Berlin Wall……..

Ecstatic East Berliners start to tear holes in the Berlin Wall Channel 4 News: Programme as Broadcast  09-11-1989

Ecstatic East Berliners start to tear holes in the Berlin Wall
Channel 4 News: Programme as Broadcast 09-11-1989

This Channel 4 News programme shows the excitement and joy of the East Berliners as they struggled to understand the Wall was no longer a barrier to their freedom. Most young people under the age of 30 would never have crossed the Wall until this moment.

West Berliners pull down a section of the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate: East/West Germany: The Berlin Wall : ITV News 11-11-1989

A couple of days later ITV’s News at Ten showed West and East Berliners celebrating together after 28 years of separation. There had not been scenes like this since the end of WWII in 1945. The work of reunifying East and West Germany began immediately and was achieved in less than a year; however many worried the process was too rapid, as this Channel 4 News clip demonstrates. It would be many more years before Germany felt like one people again and some would argue the scars are still healing.

 

Further Links:

The Berlin Wall Memorial

Berlin.de : The Berlin Wall (The City of Berlin’s official webportal)

Wikipedia: The Berlin Wall

BBC Radio 4:  Germany: Memories of a Nation  (major series)

Khan Academy: The Cold War

Guardposts and Gardens: Walking the Berlin Wall Trail

Berlin Wall app

Centenary of the Outbreak of The First World War

It seems extraordinary to us now that the assassination of an unpopular Archduke in a relatively obscure country could have started the most significant war the world had ever known. A hundred years ago, on the 28th June 1914, a group of six teenage Serb terrorists set out to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his visit to Sarajevo. They were protesting about the annexation of Bosnia by the Austro-Hungarian Empire to which the Archduke was heir.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, June 1914: IWM First World War (via Culture Grid)© IWM (Q 91848)

Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, June 1914: IWM First World War (via Culture Grid) © IWM (Q 91848)

The image above shows the Archduke departing from the Town Hall with his wife, Sophie. A short time later they would be shot dead by the 19 year old Gavrilo Princip. This act upset the balance of power between the two major alliances in Europe and set in train a series of  events, known as the July Crisis which would lead  to the outbreak of war a few weeks later. Princip was later to say that if he had known the final outcome of the murder he would never have proceeded.

Yugoslavia Special Report – Historical Look at the Balkan Crisis: Visnews: compliation from 28/6/1914 onwards

For an overview of why the Balkans region has been a focus of unrest for centuries, click on the Reuters film above which explains how the state of Yugoslavia was born in 1918.

Meanwhile Britain was undergoing social change which threatened the old order of aristocratic landowners. Trade unions were forming to protect workers’ rights and there had been several years of industrial strife. These factors had given Germany the opportunity to win more trade and British industry was losing out. Click on the image below to watch a cartoon which shows the British workman fighting back. This may have been produced as propaganda at the beginning of the war.

Animated cartoon of German Industrialist V British Workman: Gaumont Graphic c. 1914

Animated cartoon of German Industrialist V British Workman: Gaumont Graphic c. 1914

On 23rd July 1914, King George V and Edward, the 20 year old Prince of Wales spent time inspecting the the newly formed Grand Fleet. This was clearly a sign that tensions were high but it was unlikely any of the British public would have been aware war was so imminent and at that point the British Cabinet were doing all they could to ensure neutrality. Unfortunately the countdown to war had already started.

King George Visits Grand Fleet

King George Visits Grand Fleet: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel: 23-07-1914

Observers in the North  East of Scotland would have noticed something was afoot: A local photographer off the coast of Wick captured this image of battleships which were a presence in the area during WW1. It’s probable these ships would subsequently be involved in the Battle of Jutland in 1916 when the Grand Fleet fought the German  Navy’s High Seas Fleet, resulting in great loss of life.

 A local photographer off the coast of Wick captured this image of battleships which were a presence in the area during WW1 Home fleet, Wick Bay: The North Highland College (Johnston Collection)  The Wick Society c.1915

Home fleet, Wick Bay: The North Highland College (Johnston Collection) The Wick Society c.1915

On the 4th August 1914 Britain finally declared war on Germany following the German invasion of Belgium. The Kaiser had feared being caught in a pincer movement between France and Russia and needed Belgium to give him safe passage in order that he could attack France. Belgium refused and the German troops flooded in despite the Kaiser’s attempts to call them back at the last moment.

The following propaganda cartoon was made in 1918 to show Britain and the Empire’s contribution to the war effort. It portrays the Kaiser’s warmongering activities in a comical way.

Kaiser Wilhelm prepares to invade Belgium ImperialWar Museum (films) 1918

Kaiser Wilhelm keeps an eye on Britain as he prepares to invade Belgium: IWM (films) 1918

In early August 1914  many thousands of men came forward to enlist and fight for their country. Everyone was told the war would be over by Christmas and volunteers signed up with no expectation of a protracted conflict. Click on the clip below to watch crowds of volunteers queuing to enlist outside the War Office.

Recruiting in August 1914: Gaumont Graphic Newsreel : 10-08-1914

Recruitment took place across the country and was boosted by the numbers of unemployed men who were looking for a wage. After some intial training these inexperienced troops were despatched to face an uncertain future on the Western Front.

Volunteers drilling in the courtyard of Burlington House: IWM (images) 1914-1918

Volunteers drilling in the courtyard of Burlington House:
IWM (images) 1914-1918

 

No one had wanted war and yet ultimately it had seemed impossible to avoid. All  the nations who took part were hugely fearful for the future. David Grey, Britain’s Foreign Secretary famously expressed his despair at the time:

The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.

Europe would have changed irrevocably by the time the First World War finally ended and made a lasting impact on the lives of millions of people; whether they were casualties or survivors of this terrifying conflict.

Further Links:

 

 

What have you been doing with Jisc MediaHub?

We would love to know how you have been using resources from Jisc MediaHub for your learning, teaching or research activities.

What have you been doing with Jisc MediaHub resources?
Graphic artists talking: Getty (moving images) 29-10-2008

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London Outdoor Office: Getty (still images) 03-07-2008

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London Broadcasting Company/ Independent Radio News Audio Archive

We are delighted to announce Jisc MediaHub now includes the most important digitised commercial radio archive in the UK; the LBC/IRN Archive. Bournemouth University’s Media School was funded by Jisc to carry out the digitisation work. You can browse this new external collection, which is accessed from BUFVC, via our ‘Explore by Collection‘ page.

First commercial radio station opens London Broadcasting Opens: ITV News, 1973

First commercial radio station opens
London Broadcasting Opens: ITV News, 1973

Commercial radio began in Britain when the London Broadcasting Company (LBC) and Independent Radio News (IRN) received their licences in 1973. This digital archive features 4000 hours of news bulletins, vox-pops, phone-ins, documentaries and current affairs programmes dating from 1973 to the mid -1990s.

In addition the archive makes an important contribution to charting the history of radio broadcasting, offering an alternative view to the BBC’s archive collection and featuring a variety of content that delineates the listening tastes and social mores of the time period.

Commercial radio begins broadcasting in London in 1973 Commercial Radio: ITV News: 08-02-1973

Commercial radio begins broadcasting in London in 1973
Commercial Radio: ITV News: 08-02-1973

This will be of interest to anyone studying, teaching or researching media related subject areas, giving access to eyewitness reports of moments in history as well as broader analysis of news events in discussion programmes and public information broadcasts.

Highlights from this collection include coverage of the whole Thatcher era of government -from 1979 t0 1990- and reports, documentaries, phone-ins and vox-pops relating to the National Miners’ Strike of 1984 t0 1985.

Click on either of the images above to watch original ITV news reports on the start of commercial radio broadcasting in London.

 

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The 1984 Miners’ Strike

Thirty years have now gone by since the beginning of the 1984 Miners’ Strike. It remains the bitterest industrial dispute in living memory and marked a turning point in the power relationship between the trade unions and the government; the consequences of which have helped shape our economy today.

This post uses a range of Jisc MediaHub resources to examine how the strike progressed. If you are carrying out your own research you will find many hours of relevant material on this topic in the Newsfilm collections as well as the Amber Films collection and the LBC/IRN radio archive collection. You can access all of these via the ‘Explore by Collection’ page.

Mining in the UK has always been a dangerous job, where each has depended on the other for their safety underground. In addition lives could be cut short by emphysema and black lung disease; illnesses brought about by long term exposure to coal mine dust. As a result mining communities were traditionally close knit as is shown in the following film made about the future of mining in the year before the strike began.

Centenary of the Durham Miners' Association. The News From Durham: Amber Films 1983

Centenary of the Durham Miners’ Association. The News From Durham: Amber Films 1983

The News from Durham (a documentary made by Amber Films) was based around the centenary of the Durham Miners’ Association in 1983. It shows miners and their families gathering to celebrate and show their solidarity in what they knew would be difficult times ahead. The miners would be fighting for more than just their jobs; it was for their way of life and their communities.

Background to the Strike:
Poster from a government campaign to recruit miners. Come into Mining Imperial WarMuseum (images)  c1942

Come into mining – the miner’s the skilled man the government will always need
Imperial War Museum (images) c1942

Britain’s industrial revolution had been powered by the mining industry over many generations but following nationalisation in 1947 mining had gradually  become unprofitable due to oil imports and the birth of the nuclear power industry. The following film from Channel 4 News looks at the background to the National Union of Mineworkers and why it eventually became left wing.

A young Arthur Scargill rises within the NUM Yorkshire Miners: Channel 4 News  07-01-1985

A young Arthur Scargill rises within the NUM
Yorkshire Miners: Channel 4 News 07-01-1985

The increasing militancy of the miners led them to strike over pay in 1971; their first national action since 1926. The resulting electricity cuts and  Three-Day Week caused humiliation for Ted Heath’s government which was eventually brought down in 1974. A decade later the Conservative Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, was determined to crush the NUM should they oppose plans for the restructuring of the coal industry. Careful preparations were made by stockpiling coal well in advance to ensure electricity supplies were not interrupted.

The next move in the government’s battle plan was to appoint Ian MacGregor as the new head of the National Coal Board in March 1983. He was a controversial figure due the reputation he had earned  as a ‘hatchet man’ during his last job at British Steel where he had made over 90,000 staff redundant in order to make the company more profitable.

Arthur Scargill describes the NCB Reports and Accounts as an exercise in duplicity Where are we going?: Amber Films 1983

Arthur Scargill describes the NCB Reports and Accounts as an exercise in duplicity
Where are we going?: Amber Films 1983

Amber Film’s ‘The Future for Miners: Where are we going?’ was produced for the NUM during 1983 to discuss the crisis in the coal industry. It provides a valuable background to how beleaguered the miners were at this time and their thoughts about the future. In it Arthur Scargill, then President of the NUM, talks about a secret hit list of 70 pits for closure: an allegation which was to have consequences for him a short time later. In fact the miners had been used to many pit closures over preceding decades, however in 1974 the NCB produced a report called ‘The Plan for Coal’ in which they confidently forecast an expansion of the coal industry until the end of the century. As a result the miners were deeply suspicious of the Thatcher government’s motives in appointing Ian MacGregor who was already regarded as an asset-stripper.

The Strike Begins:

The strike began in early March 1984 after the NCB announced its intention to close 20 pits. There would be no national ballot – a decision which was to contribute to Scargill’s eventual downfall. Some mining areas (such as Nottinghamshire) did not support the strike: they mistakenly believed their pits were safe. NCB Chairman, Ian MacGregor, wrote to all members of the NUM to tell them Scargill was deceiving them and there was no secret hit list; however documents recently released by the National Archives reveal otherwise.

This ITV News report shows how flying pickets were sent to non-striking pits to persuade them to join the strike; causing much division and violence. The NCB were granted an injunction by the High Court against secondary picketing by the NUM, however this proved ineffective. Police from other parts of the country (especially the Met) were brought in to control the situation but their presence was greatly resented as they were not local and had little understanding of mining communities.

The next news clip gives a flavour of these tensions. Yorkshire miners from Knottingly colliery tried to picket Nottinghamshire mines but were frustrated in their efforts by the Police. Click on the image below to hear them talk about their experiences.

Picketing miners talk about Police interference Miners Strike/ Day 16: Channel 4 News  27-03-1984

Picketing miners talk about Police interference
Miners Strike/ Day 16: Channel 4 News 27-03-1984

In this ITV News clip you can watch Arthur Scargill’s bravura performance when asked to condemn the violence of flying pickets.

The Battle of Orgreave:

The worst violence of the strike took place at the Orgreave coking plant on 18 June 1984, when up to 10,000 picketing miners clashed with 5,000 police in a bloody confrontation. The miners were trying to blockade the plant to prevent coke being transported to British Steel. That day huge police reinforcements had been brought in along with dogs, police horses and riot gear; whereas the miners were clad in light summer clothing which gave them no protection. Never before in the UK had police in riot gear attacked citizens exercising their right to picket – it was a watershed moment.

The following extensive unedited rushes from ITN give an indication of the atmosphere on the day:

A miner who has been beaten with a truncheon is taken away by the Police at Orgreave Miners Strike Rushes: ITN Rushes: 28-12-1984

A miner who has been beaten with a truncheon is taken away by the Police at Orgreave
Miners Strike Rushes: ITN Rushes: 28-12-1984

Both police and miners were injured that day but arrested miners could not be succesfully prosecuted due to lack of evidence. Today the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign is calling for a public enquiry into the police brutality which took place.

‘The Enemy Within’

On 19th July 1984 Margaret Thatcher addressed the Conservative back bench 1922 Committee on the striking miners, during which she described them as ‘the enemy within’:

We had to fight the enemy without in the Falklands. We always have to be aware of the enemy within, which is much more difficult to fight and more dangerous to liberty

A short time later she gave the following interview to ITV News in which she said the government had given the miners ‘the best deal in history ……and the best investment in the future they’ve ever had’ Click on the image below to listen in full.

Margaret Thatcher is interviewed on the Miners' Strike ITV News  02-08-1984

Margaret Thatcher is interviewed on the Miners’ Strike
ITV News 02-08-1984

The following month David Jenkins, the controversial new Bishop of Durham, took the opportunity to make an inflammatory speech about the strike in which he argued why the miners ‘must not be defeated’ and that the government were ‘indifferent to poverty and powerlessness’. Click here to listen to his words via our LCB/IRN collection.

Meanwhile miners’ families were starting to suffer great hardships. Everyone had hoped the dispute would be resolved after a few months but as winter approached the cold weather and increasing poverty was starting to take its toll . Miners’ wives had mobilised to form support groups such as ‘Women Against Pit Closures’. They set up kitchens in community centres to feed the strikers’ families and many had also joined in the picketing.

End of the Strike

The miners eventually returned to work on the 5th March 1985; a whole year after the strike began. For most of them it was a very emotional time; they were not sure what they had achieved despite having faced so many difficulties.

Maerdy Lodge miners demonstration at the end of the Miners'Strike Getty (still images)  05-03-1985

Maerdy Lodge miners demonstration at the end of the Miners’Strike
Getty (still images) 05-03-1985

In the following clip, from the  Channel 4 Special ‘The Miners Decide‘, Welsh miners speak passionately about what the strike meant to them. Arthur Scargill blamed the end of the strike on a hostile government, judiciary and Police together with the media and a year later was to say the NUM had not been fighting an employer but the Tory government and the state machine.

In this overview made by Channel 4 News you can hear a report on the long term legacy of the dispute and how it had weakened ties between the NUM and the rest of the trade union movement. The human cost of deprivation endured by miners’ families was very great and would have ongoing consequences in the following years and across generations. This Channel 4 Special looks at the village of Grimethorpe a year after the strike ended and its effects on the mining community. A further clip from ITV News shows the effects of the strike on the Nottinghamshire village of Wellbeck where the community had suffered from divisions between striking and non-striking miners.

The mining community of Wellbeck talks about how the strike has affected their lives Wellbeck Retrospective: ITV News: 03-03-1985

The mining community of Wellbeck talks about how the strike has affected their lives
Wellbeck Retrospective: ITV News: 03-03-1985

By the end of the 1980s trade union power was significantly weakened by legislation which limited the extent of industrial action. It is now illegal to carry out secondary picketing and police have special powers to stop a mass picket where they think there is a danger of serious public disorder. Today trade union membership has dwindled to less than half its total in 1980 and it is unlikely we will see industrial conflict on the level of the Miners’ Strike again. However, the recent strike by London Underground workers signals a possible return to using strikes as a method of solving industrial disputes.

The UK coal mining industry continued to decline and was privatised in 1994. Today only three deep coal mines currently remain open from the 170 pits which employed 190,000 people in 1984.

 

Further Links:

Now We See What Was Really At Stake In The Miners’ Strike: Guardian review article by Seamus Milne 12/03/14

Nicholas Jones Archive and Blog

Cabinet Papers reveal ‘secret coal pits closure plan’: BBC News article 03/01/14

National Archives: Newly released files from 1984 include miners’ strike

Thatcher vs the miners: official papers confirm the strikers’ worst suspicions: Channel4 blogpost 03/01/14

The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign

In search of Arthur Scargill: 30 years after the miners’ strike

Margaret Thatcher and the Pit Strike in Yorkshire: BBC News article 08/04/13 following the death of Baroness Thatcher

BBC Radio 4: The Reunion: The Miners’ Strike:   Those divided by the picket line discuss the legacy of the strike 30 years on

The Women of the Miners’ Strike: ‘We caused a lot of havoc’ : Guardian article 07/04/14

Kellingley and Thoresby deep mines to hit 1300 jobs: BBC News article 10/04/14 reporting on the closure of two of the three remaining deep mines belonging to UK Coal

Taking part in industrial action and strikes: a guide from Gov.UK

Coalfields Regeneration Trust:  Charity founded in 1999 dedicated to improving the quality of life in Britain’s former mining communities

 

Interface upgrade: Jan 2014 release

EDINA is pleased to announce a new release of Jisc MediaHub, which includes:

  • Open search of the Fitzwilliam Museum Open Data Services collection of over 80,000 images – http://jiscmediahub.ac.uk/explore/collection?cid=67

  • A feature for commenting on the Location field in the metadata of a
    full record (where the Location field is present)
  • More films from the Wellcome Moving Image & Sound Collection

Nelson Mandela 1918 – 2013

The death of Nelson Mandela was announced last night and has triggered a wave of warm reflections on and re-examinations of his life and work. The media has been fascinated by Mandela since the 1960s and we wanted to take a look back over Mandela’s media story through Jisc MediaHub.

Although Nelson Mandela had been politically active since the 1940s it wasn’t until his participation in the ANC (the African National Congress) started to lead to sanctions, including bans on speaking in public, and arrests, that Mandela began becoming prominent internationally.

In this, occasionally very dated but also quite prescient, Roving Report on South Africa, from 1961, you can watch (from around minute 11) Nelson Mandela’s first television interview. At this time he was already in hiding from the authorities.

Still from the first television interview with Nelson Mandela, part of Roving Report, 1961

This Report on South Africa, ITN: Roving Report, 21-06-1961

Mandela talks in the interview about non-violent protests but also addresses concerns around – and calls for – violent protest, framing these concerns and calls for action role with the role of violence in the South African authorities’ treatment of black South African’s protesting apartheid.

Whilst the overarching intent was peaceful, violent protests did follow, with the ANC implicated in some of these acts, as Mandela discussed in a 1990 interview. However, when Mandela was tried on counts of sabotage and conspiring to violently overthrow the government, Mandela’s presentation of himself and the ANC’s opposition to the racism inherent in the apartheid system gained international attention.

Mandela was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1964 with political activists and the British media taking note. An anti-apartheid march took place in London in June 1964, organised with trade union participation and including a speech by Bertrand Russell:

Image from the film Mandela March recording a protest in London in 1964.

Mandela March, ITV News: NEWS FROM ITN ( ITV Late Evening News ), 14-06-1964

The campaign that began in 1964 was to carry on for decades, with the ANC and other anti-aparthaid campaigners, international organisations, and many supporters around the world keeping Mandela’s imprisonment a live issue, and using it as a focal point for criticisms of the South African government and it’s actions.

By the mid eighties the pressure on South Africa to change was gaining real momentum.  Although Mandela had not been seen since his arrest, his reputation was still formidable, as this 1985 profile shows. In 1986, footage shot by an American TV crew at Medipark Clinic in Cape Town, appeared to be the first sighting of Mandela in almost 25 years. The identification was confirmed by his (second) wife Winnie, a fellow ANC activist and one of the most vocal campaigners for his release during his long imprisonment.

Screenshot of images of Mandela in prison in 1986

A witness to Mandela’s visit to hospital talks about what he saw. (Nelson Mandela:, ITV News: NEWS AT TEN ( ITV Late Evening News ), 13-02-1986)

In June 1988 a major ANC Rally took place, with Zulu leader Chief Buthelezi giving a powerful speech calling for Nelson Mandela, still the ANC’s influential leader, to be released.

Image from 1988 Mandela Rally

S AFRICA: MANDELA RALLY:, ITN: NEWS AT TEN ( ITV Late Evening News ), 11-06-1988

The campaigners would not have to wait long … The South African Government started to offer some concessions, although Mandela refused a day-long visit from family for his 70th birthday in 1988, finding such an offer problematic to “accept such a gift if his people were not able to give him that same gift of celebrating that same day with him“, as Winnie Mandela explains in this news clip from July ’88.

Rumours of Mandela’s possible release began to circulate and when a car-bomb exploded at the ANC headquarters in September 1988, international pressure particularly from the US, increased.

And then, astonishingly, in 1990, Nelson Mandela was released. It seemed the whole free world celebrated.

 

South Africans celebrate Nelson Mandela’s release. 2 Nov 1990. Getty Images

The world’s news organisations compiled special, extended packages of events.

As President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, Mandela was revered globally as a peacemaker and philanthropist. Children even voted him Santa of the Year.

Children Vote Nelson Mandela ‘Santa Of The Year’. 5 Dec 1995. AP Archive.

But he was also shrewd politically, distancing himself from his estranged wife Winnie by sacking her from government in 1995.

In 1999, aged 81, Nelson Mandela retired from politics but continued to speak out on issues that concerned him, both local and international. He was listened to attentively by senior politicians, diplomats and other world leaders. In 2004, as his health began to deteriorate, Mandela “retired from retirement”.

Jisc MediaHub records one of the rare public appearances of his final years, at the concert in Hyde Park in 2008 to celebrate his 90th birthday.

 

Nelson Mandela Gives Speech At Concert In Hyde Park. 20 Feb 2008. AP Archive.

We will never see his like again.