The recent passing of Nelson Mandela, the man who embodied the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, has triggered a landslide of tributes paid from people across the world.
Here at Cruxx Music, we will pay tribute by remembering some “Liberation Music”, that fueled the resistance against apartheid, both in South Africa and across the globe. Our top five list is at the bottom of the article.
Song and music connected all age groups and across divides of education and wealth,
Nelson Mandela (1918 – 2013) Photo: Georges DeKeerle, Getty Images, April 16, 1990
After Britain gained full control over South Africa following the South African wars (1879 – 1915), a series of laws where enacted to segregate different racial groups, for example requiring documentation proving authorization to live in white areas.The 1913 Native Land Act restricted the amount of land Africans could own to 7% of the national total. Apartheid was abolished and Nelson Mandela elected the country’s first non-white president in 1994.
Nelson Mandela was chosen to be the centerpiece of what would become a highly successful anti-apartheid campaign. He was picked among the prisoners of Robben Island to personify the struggle of all people oppressed in South Africa. Despite the fact that he sat in jail for decades and was therefore not seen in public, he became an world famous icon. When Jarry Drammers wrote the song Free Nelson Mandela thirty years ago, he was just one of many imprisoned ANC leaders. On his release in 1990, he had become a global icon, despite only a handful of people knowing what he actually looked like.
The movement against apartheid in South Africa expanded from South Africa itself into a international movement. The campaign influencing popular culture, but was also influenced by it. I Just Want to Break Fee by Queen, became a favorite song among activists in South Africa in the 1980s.
Video: Musicians discuss the importance of music in the anti-apartheid struggle.
TOP FIVE ANTI-APARTHEID SONGS:
The Specials. Free Nelson Mandela(1984)
Sonny Okouon – Fire in Soweto
Johnny Clegg – Asimbonanga (1987)
Stevie Wonder- It’s Wrong (1985)
Miriam Makeba – Ndodemnyama