Primary Sources
Here are a few examples of primary sources for the Apartheid. They include a letter and a speech written by Nelson Mandela, who was a key figure in the resistance against the Apartheid. He was arrested in 1962 on suspicion of trying to overthrow the government and he was sentenced to life in prison in 1964, where he continued to lead and influence the opposition.
Mandela, N. (1961). Second letter from Nelson Mandela to Hendrik Verwoerd, 26 June 1961.
This is a letter that Mandela wrote to the South African Prime Minister shortly before his arrest and imprisonment, urging Verwoerd to call a national convention to create a new non-racial constitution. The letter gives us a glimpse of the oppression experienced by black people and shows us the lengths Mandela was willing to go to for equality and justice.
Mandela, N. (1990). Apartheid has no future. Vital Speeches of the Day, 56(10), 295–297.
This is the speech that Mandela delivered on February 11, 1990, when he was released from prison. Mandela's words show us that he continued to fight against Apartheid while imprisoned, and that he supported the current president in moving towards a democratic society for all.
Searching for More
Here are some additional resources that you can use as you continue your research. The following resource is an online collection of South African primary resources. It is not a library database, but it includes extensive collections of primary sources.
- Fordham University South African SourcebookThe Internet History Sourcebooks Project is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted historical texts presented cleanly (without advertising or excessive layout) for educational use.
- Community Video Education TrustThe Community Video Education Trust (CVET) in Cape Town is building a digital archive of videos taken in South Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The raw footage available on this website documents anti-apartheid demonstrations, speeches, mass funerals, celebrations, and interviews with activists. Videos capture the activism of trade unions, students and political organizations, including the activities of the United Democratic Front.
The CVET archive is a unique, publicly accessible video record of the peak of popular resistance against apartheid.
The following library databases include primary sources, but you may want to limit your searches to see only primary sources. You can use Apartheid and Nelson Mandela as keywords to search in these databases. To broaden your research, think about some of the other key figures in the Apartheid or the resistance movement (hint: use the Research Starter and our tips for Background Research to identify other people's names).
- History Reference Center - EBSCO This link opens in a new windowDesigned for secondary schools, public libraries, junior/community colleges and undergraduate research, this database features full text for thousands of primary source documents and informational texts.
- Black Studies Center - ProQuest This link opens in a new windowBlack Studies Center, from Chadwyck Healey US, brings together essential historical and current material for researching the past, present and future of African Americans, the wider African Diaspora, and Africa itself. It is comprised of several cross-searchable, component databases including: Schomburg Studies on the Black Experience; International Index to Black Periodicals (IIBP); The Chicago Defender; the Black Literature Index, the HistoryMakers oral history video resource, and Black Abolitionist Papers .
- World History In Context - Gale This link opens in a new windowWorld History In Context reaches back to the ancient world — and forward to today's headlines — to deliver a chronicle of the great cultures and societies that have formed the history of the human race. Includes primary sources, reference, and multi-media content.
- Overcoming ApartheidOvercoming Apartheid compiled 40 hours of interviews with 60 people involved in the anti-apartheid struggle. Both 120 short segments and the full interviews are available here. In addition, some 20 brief interview segments link to more interviews located on external websites.
- Struggles for Freedom: South AfricaDigital Innovation South Africa (DISA) is a nonprofit initiative for co-operation among research libraries and archives in South Africa that has at its goal making accessible to scholars and researchers worldwide Southern African material of high sociopolitical interest concerning the Struggles for Freedom, material that otherwise would be difficult to locate and use. DISA undertakes digital imaging projects with partner institutions in South Africa, resulting in this important historical material becoming universally accessible, while at the same time developing knowledge and expertise in digital imaging technology in the library and archival community in the region. The project has and continues to make a major contribution to the availability of unique resources, thereby supporting research and teaching.