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In the late 1980s Bristol AA Group held an annual Festival against Apartheid. The 1989 Festival had an ambitious two-week programme featuring music from Southern Africa, an exhibition of Zimbabwean artworks and a children’s day with workshops on gumboot dancing, circus skills and drama.

Poster advertising Bristol AA Group’s 1989 Festival against Apartheid. The Festival had an ambitious two-week programme featuring music from Southern Africa, an exhibition of Zimbabwean artworks and a children’s day with workshops on gumboot dancing, circus skills and drama.

This poster reproduced an press advertisement calling on the 1989 Commonwealth  Heads of Government meeting to impose further sanctions on South Africa. In 1986 the Commonwealth imposed limited sanctions, constrained by British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to agree to more wide-ranging measures. The Southern Africa Coalition was a broad coalition of British organisations, including churches, trade unions, overseas development organisations and the AAM, launched on 1 September 1989 to pressure the British government ot impose targeted sanctions against South Africa.

This report analysed the actions taken by F W de Klerk during his first 100 days as President of South Africa. It argued that he had made no significant changes to the apartheid system.

COSATU General Secretary Jay Naidoo was the main speaker at the AAM’s annual general meeting in November 1989. He warned that since F W de Klerk was inaugurated as State President in September 1989, there had been an increase in violence and repression against South African trade unionists.

Poster produced for the Anti-Apartheid Movement’s campaign for sanctions against South Africa.

At the end of 1989 over 70 political prisoners were still being held on death row in South Africa. Many others had had their sentences commuted after international campaigns to save their lives. This leaflet publicised a rally on South African Political Prisoners Day, 11 October 1989.

Operation Orange was an AAM fundraising initiative designed to promote the consumer boycott campaign. This leaflet asked people to send a message to Prime Minister Thatcher asking her to impose sanctions against South Africa. At the same time it asked them to send a donation to the Anti-Apartheid Movement.