4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s
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Gavin Brown
Abstract
Communists and members of the New Left were involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement [AAM] from its origins in the Boycott Committee in the late 1950s. In its early days, the AAM welcomed support from individual communists, but was reluctant to be seen to be too close to the Communist Party. Nevertheless, members of the Communist Party of Great Britain [CPGB] played a significant role at all levels of the movement throughout its history. Fundamental to this was the relationship between the CPGB and the South African Communist Party [SACP] whose cadre played a central role in the exiled structures of the African National Congress [ANC]. In contrast to the CPGB, other left tendencies had more complicated relationships with the AAM’s leadership. This chapter examines the relationship of different far Left tendencies to the anti-apartheid struggle during the 1970s and 1980s.
Abstract
Communists and members of the New Left were involved in the Anti-Apartheid Movement [AAM] from its origins in the Boycott Committee in the late 1950s. In its early days, the AAM welcomed support from individual communists, but was reluctant to be seen to be too close to the Communist Party. Nevertheless, members of the Communist Party of Great Britain [CPGB] played a significant role at all levels of the movement throughout its history. Fundamental to this was the relationship between the CPGB and the South African Communist Party [SACP] whose cadre played a central role in the exiled structures of the African National Congress [ANC]. In contrast to the CPGB, other left tendencies had more complicated relationships with the AAM’s leadership. This chapter examines the relationship of different far Left tendencies to the anti-apartheid struggle during the 1970s and 1980s.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Contents v
- List of contributors vii
- Acknowledgements xi
- Introduction 1
- 1 Revolutionary vanguard or agent provocateur 11
- 2 Not that serious? 30
- 3 Protest and survive 48
- 4 Anti-apartheid solidarity in the perspectives and practices of the British far left in the 1970s and 1980s 66
- 5 ‘The merits of Brother Worth’ 88
- 6 Making miners militant? 107
- 7 Networks of solidarity 125
- 8 ‘You have to start where you’re at’ 144
- 9 Origins of the present crisis? 163
- 10 A miner cause? 182
- 11 The British radical left and Northern Ireland during the ‘Troubles’ 201
- 12 The point is to change it 218
- 13 The Militant Tendency and entrism in the Labour Party 238
- 14 Understanding the formation of the Communist Party of Britain 258
- Index 277
