Showing 4 results

Archival description
Robben Island
Print preview View:

Ruth First Papers

The personal papers of Ruth First
The collection is made up of background material, correspondence and reviews concerning "No Easy Walk to Freedom" edited by Ruth First. Printed copies of Nelson Mandela’s speech at the Rivonia Trial. Drafts of sections of the book, and a typescript of Mary Benson’s statement before the UN Special Committee on Apartheid in 1964, with handwritten alterations. Correspondence, mainly between Ruth First and Heinemann Publishers, as well as clippings of newspaper reviews.
Material on political detention between 1963 and 1970, including a copy of the 1963 Detention Act, a radio script by Mary Benson entitled "Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Trial," and notes produced by Ruth First. Press releases and conference papers concerning the Symposium on the exploitation of Blacks in South Africa and Namibia, organized by the United Nations in 1978, with observances of the 60th birthday of Nelson Mandela.
Transcripts of interviews with Robben Island political prisoners. Correspondence from friends and acquaintances, and materials from South African newspapers concerning the Rivonia Trial.

First, Ruth

Dennis Brutus Papers

Collection of documents including correspondence, newsletters, pamphlets, press clippings, memoranda and media releases. The subjects covered include:
Biographical material on Nelson and Winnie Mandela. Robben Island. Nelson Mandela's health during his imprisonment, and calls for independent medical treatment.
Petitions and campaigns for Nelson Mandela's release from prison. US House Resolution 430 entitled, "The Mandela Freedom Resolution," submitted by Geo W. Crockett Jr., Hamilton Fish Jr., Claude Pepper and Jim Leach, calling for Nelson Mandela's release from prison.
Prison conditions.
The work of the International Anti-apartheid Movement, particularly the Free South Africa Movement (USA). International tributes, such as the Nelson Mandela bust on Trafalgar Square (London) and the statue at Merrion Square (Dublin). Honorary degrees conferred on Mandela. Seventieth birthday tributes. Nelson Mandela's release from prison in February 1990, and his visit to the US later that year. The International Reception Committee, established to welcome Nelson Mandela after his release from prison. Marches and rallies held in the US celebrating his release from prison. Nelson Mandela's address to the US Congress, and remarks made to newspaper editors and writers in the US on the new South Africa. Political negotiations, the future of sanctions, the reasons for his release from prison and the armed struggle.
Speeches, statements and articles by Mandela.
The list of correspondents includes Dennis Brutus, John Fiordelisi, Randall Robinson, Archbishop Trevor Huddleston and Geo W. Crockett Jr.
News clippings are from the Boston Sunday Globe, Chicago Sunday Times, Chicago Tribune, Ebony Magazine, New York Post, New York Times, State News and USA Today.

Brutus, Dennis

Oliver Tambo Papers

The personal papers of Oliver Tambo. The collection includes:
News clippings from South African and international newspapers concerning the arrest of Nelson Mandela in 1962, his court appearances, and calls for his release from prison (1962 -1988). Correspondence concerning the PAFMECSA conference held in Ethiopia addressed to all member governments, a letter from the ANC London office concerning the arrests of Mandela and Walter Sisulu, and a cable from the Somali Minister of Foreign Affairs to Tambo re: Mandela’s arrest (1962). News clippings in the build up to and aftermath of Mandela’s release from prison (1990 - 1991). News clippings, programmes and itineraries concerning Mandela’s visits to the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Geneva, Botswana and other countries (1990 - 1991).
Reports on campaigns for the release of political prisoners, including reports from Robben Island, and on Lord Nicholas Bethel's meeting with Mandela. Also includes a 1970 report by Mandela about prison conditions on Robben Island (1970 - 1989). Correspondence from Mandela, written from Pollsmoor Prison, to Oliver Tambo and a number of other individuals. Original letters to Tambo, as well as transcripts of letters written to Nthato Motlana, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, Sheila Weinberg and Desmond Tutu, amongst others. Also included is a letter of thanks to Mrs. Bhalla of the Indian Council for the 1979 Jawaharlal Nehru Award and a letter of sympathy on the death of Seretse Khama (1978 - 1989). Media reports concerning Mandela, including cables. Includes reports by Radio RSA, internal media monitoring, an African National Congress (ANC) statement on Mandela’s health, and of a visit to Mandela by Robert Brown (1985 - 1990). Correspondence, reports and messages concerning international support for Mandela’s release from prison. Subjects covered include tributes on his 60th and 70th birthdays, and awards and honours conferred on Mandela, particularly through the work of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (1984).
Statements and correspondence concerning the assassination of Chris Hani (1993). Video recordings of various events before and after Mandela’s release from prison. These include the 1990 Free Mandela Concert at Wembley Stadium and Mandela’s 1990 visit to Lusaka (1988 - 1990).
Correspondence, lists and statements by Oliver Tambo concerning awards and honours conferred on Mandela. These include honorary degrees, Freedom of the City awards, artistic attributes and facilities named after Mandela. The correspondence is primarily between Oliver Tambo and heads of / representatives of awarding countries and institutions. The awards include the Simon Bolivar Prize, the naming of a road in Mandela’s honour in Botswana, and awards conferred by the Sandinista National Liberation Front of Nicaragua, the Jamaican Human Rights Organisation, the University of Carabobo of Venezuela, and the Karl Marx University of the German Democratic Republic (1983 - 1990). Correspondence and statements concerning international calls for, and, Mandela’s release from prison. These include correspondence about a resolution passed by the African Symposium on African Orality in Nigeria, and a statement by the president of the Republic of Senegal after Mandela’s release. Other correspondents include Senator Michael J Williams of Trinidad and Tobago, OJ Masire of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), and the Communist Party of Sweden (1989 - 1990). Correspondence from Tambo to Mandela and to the Mandela family (1991 - 1992).

Speeches delivered in Mandela’s honour.
Drafts of plays and books written about Nelson Mandela, the drafts include No Easy Walk to Freedom, Nelson Mandela and the Rivonia Trial and What is to be done’.
Published and unpublished statements and speeches of Mandela, 1962 - 1991.
Correspondence and memoranda relating to the Nelson Mandela National Reception Committee (1989 - 1990).
Biographical

Tambo, Oliver Reginald

Robben Island General Recreational Committee Archive

Documents created by the General Recreational Committee that represented political prisoners on Robben Island. These include a handwritten transcript of a document by Nelson Mandela motivating that the African National Congress (ANC) and the government reach a negotiated political settlement.

-There is also a message from Mandela (during the period of his imprisonment) to Oliver Tambo.

Robben Island General Recreational Committee