Don't Entertain Apartheid -- Support the Cultural Boycott!

In 1968 the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution encouraging worldwide suspension of cultural and educational exchanges with institutions upholding apartheid. The United States rejected the resolution, and American companies profited from ignoring the boycott. Musicians such as the Beach Boys, Cher, Curtis Mayfield, Queen, and Tina Turner earned millions performing in South Africa.

Ahead of Medu’s 1982 Festival of Culture and Resistance, members decided that a poster was needed to promote the cultural boycott as a key principle of the symposium. This poster responds to the actions of American soul singer Millie Jackson, who performed in South Africa despite a plea from a Black Consciousness arts organization that she not. As reported in the local press, Jackson remarked, “Soweto? Where is that place? I’ve never heard of it,” adding, “I am not going to mix my career with politics. All I want is the money.”