Robben Island and Prisoner Resistance to ApartheidRobben Island prison in South Africa held thousands of black political prisoners, including Nelson Mandela, who opposed apartheid. This study reconstructs the inmates' resistance strategies to demonstrate how they created a political and social order behind bars. Although survival was their primary goal, challenging apartheid was their ultimate objective. Robben Island was continually transformed by its political inmates into a site of resistance, despite being designed to repress. |
Contents
Introduction Prison as a Source of Politics | 1 |
Politics and Prison A Background | 14 |
Resistance for Survival | 33 |
Resistance Beyond Survival | 61 |
Prisoner Politics and Organization on Robben Island | 81 |
Debates and Disagreements | 112 |
Influencing South African Politics | 146 |
Political Imprisonment and the State | 193 |
Theorizing Islander Resistance | 236 |
Beyond Robben Island Comparisons and Conclusion | 272 |
Diagrams of Robben Island Prison | 293 |
Methodological Notes on Oral and Archival Sources | 295 |
Capsule Biographies of Interview Respondents | 299 |
313 | |
329 | |
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Common terms and phrases
activists Ahmed Kathrada Alexander ANC's antiapartheid apartheid argued Babenia black consciousness Botha Cape Town challenge Coetsee Committee criminal critical developed Dingake discussed Dlamini Dyani especially example exile former Islanders former Robben Islanders Govan Mbeki groups Harry Gwala Helen Suzman homosexuality hunger strike Ibid ICRC identified ideological imprisonment improvements incarceration inmates interview with author Island Museum Johannesburg Johnson Mlambo leaders leadership Long Walk Mac Maharaj Macozoma Maharaj Masondo Mcongo Mkhwanazi Moseneke Mothopeng Motlanthe Naidoo National negotiations Nelson Mandela noted Ntshanyana organizational organizations political education political prisoners Pretoria prison authorities prisoner resistance prisoners on Robben Prisons Service protest Ramokgadi recruitment regime release repression Robben Island Prison role sentence Sexwale single cells Sisulu social South Africa sport strategies struggle Suzman tape recording tion Tokyo Sexwale Tsiki Umkhonto we Sizwe union University Press Walk to Freedom warders Willemse