Have You Heard from Johannesburg - Birmingham Civil Rights ...

Museums and Community
Collaborations Abroad

Participants came to the project
from a variety of backgrounds; ten
students from Birmingham,
Alabama, USA (above) and ten from
Soweto township, Johannesburg,
South Africa (right).
Selected by project partners
via a competitive interview
and essay-writing process, the
twenty participants in the
International Legacy Youth
Leadership Project ranged in
age from 16 to 19 years old.

Selected by project partners via a competitive
interview and essay-writing process, the
twenty participants ranged in age from 16 to
19 years old. They came to the project from a
variety of backgrounds; ten students from
Birmingham, Alabama, USA and ten from
Soweto township, Johannesburg, South Africa.
International Legacy Youth Leadership Project participants
Johannesburg, South Africa
June 2011

International Legacy Youth Leadership Project
participants, along with their Birmingham,
Alabama and Johannesburg, South Africa
communities, examined two major social
movements of the Twentieth Century — the
United States Civil Rights Movement and the
South African Anti-Apartheid Movement.
The project took place in 2011.

In May 1963, the eyes of the world were on
Birmingham and young people spilling out of
school windows, protesting the city’s segregation
laws and customs. Success for the Birmingham
Movement hinged on the participation of
thousands to fill the city’s jails. Therefore, it
hinged on the youth — students who left home in
the morning with toothbrushes in their pockets,
aiming to get arrested by Commissioner “Bull”
Connor’s police force.
Prepared to confront brutality, they did not expect
trained attack dogs or fire hose water streams
powerful enough to de-bark trees. And yet,
Birmingham, often called the Johannesburg of the
South, would never be the same. Youth were
injured, hundreds were detained and thousands
went to jail. The back of segregation was broken,
and though it effectively hobbled along for years,
demonstrators for change could claim victory.

In June 1976, the eyes of the world were on the
Johannesburg township of Soweto, where police
fired upon school aged demonstrators, killing
hundreds and injuring, detaining and imprisoning
thousands more. Youth staged a mass
demonstration in response to the South African
government’s ruling that Afrikaans, the language of
white minority rulers, would be used as sole
medium of instruction in Soweto’s schools.
Prepared, like the children of Birmingham, to face
police brutality, they did not expect to be gunned
down. The Soweto Uprising marked an important
turning point in the struggle against Apartheid,
South Africa’s official system of racial segregation
policies.

Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth (1922-
2011) was the leader of the
Birmingham based Alabama Christian
Movement for Human Rights.
Recalling the tide-turning events of
Birmingham, he described the city’s
young people as “…freedom fighters,
as much so as those in the army, but
without weapons.”
Shuttlesworth’s visionary leadership
changed Alabama and the nation.
“Birmingham was probably the Johannesburg of the South.
Apartheid was at its severest level in Birmingham and Fred
Shuttlesworth was the man for the hour.”
Reverend Joseph Lowery to Renee Poissant
Interview for National Visionary Leadership Project (2007)

In July 1963, future president of his
country Nelson Mandela (b. 1918) sat in
a Johannesburg prison cell awaiting
additional sentencing to what became
decades of incarceration. Long a fighter
in the struggle to end apartheid,
Mandela had once led the youth league
of the African National Congress (ANC).
He believed strongly in the power of
youth to organize for change.
Mandela’s visionary leadership changed
South Africa.
“In our struggle for freedom and justice in the U.S….we feel
a powerful sense of identification with those in…South
Africa. Today great leaders [like] Nelson Mandela…are
wasting away in Robben Island prison. In this situation…we
in America have a unique responsibility.”
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to members of British Parliament
(1964)

Since opening to the public in
1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute (BCRI) in Birmingham,
Alabama has been visited by over
two million people, including
adults, school children, students
and scholars, from the U.S. and
many foreign countries.
BCRI’s mission is to promote civil
and human rights worldwide
through education.

Since opening to the public in 2001, the
Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, South
Africa has educated millions of visitors
about the rise and fall of apartheid and the
triumph of the human spirit over adversity.
Established as a South African national
monument in 1999, the Mandela House
Museum in the Orlando West area of
Johannesburg’s Soweto township
preserves the history, heritage and legacy
of the Mandela family, former residents of
the house. In 2010, the Apartheid
Museum assumed management of the
Mandela House.

Study
Students in
Birmingham and
Johannesburg
studied select books
and films prior to
travel. With
guidance from
instructors, they
discussed the
materials in weekly
sessions at the
participating
museums from
January to May
2011.

At BCRI, the public was invited to view the entire
award-winning seven-part documentary series Have
You Heard from Johannesburg?

Travel
Birmingham to Johannesburg
June 14-23, 2011
The U.S. students’ visit
coincided with Youth
Day in South Africa, a
holiday marking the role
of youth in the struggle
against Apartheid. The
visit also coincided with
that of First Lady
Michelle Obama, so
they attended her
speech to youth in
Soweto’s historic
Regina Mundi Church.

Johannesburg to Birmingham
July 13 - 22, 2011
The South African
students’ visit to the
U.S. coincided with l
Mandela Day, so
project participants
helped lead the city of
Birmingham in its first
celebration of the
global day of service
in honor of their
former president.

Sharing the Story

Maintaining Connections

The International Legacy Youth
Leadership Project engaged new
audiences in the work of the
partner museums.

Youth Day Celebration
Johannesburg
June 16, 2011
Mandela Day Celebration
Birmingham
July 18, 2011

“ ”
I learned to always be friendly to people, even
From learning Zulu to playing a traditional game
of rugby we were able to see parallels in one
another’s life that made us all the same.
Jessica Lockett, age 18
Birmingham, Alabama
when you don't know them.
Abongile Kala, age 16
Johannesburg, South Africa

“ The project broadened my knowledge of African
”
history...and allowed me to build friendships with
Remembering the time when I shared the stage
with Asha Xulu's Umdabu Dance Company on
Mandela Day in Birmingham. BEING AN ARTIST MAKES U
BELONG TO THE WORLD AND EVERYWHERE I GO IS A STAGE,
so I had to perform!
Sibusiso Dube, age 19
Johannesburg, South Africa
youth from South Africa. We also engaged in
discussions about solving problems for the future.
This was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Byrrh Bryant, age 18
Birmingham, Alabama

Participants
Ntombizodwa Buthelezi
Sibusiso Dube
Abongile Kala
Innocent Kwinda
Precious Maluleka
Zwelibanzi Mashaba
Fumane Mokhothu
Mpho Mphotwane
Xolane Shabalala
Mpho Sharon
Keitumetse Sokhele
Phumla Zungu
Instructors/Leaders
Jacqui Masiza
Wayde Davy
Byrrh Bryant
Jesse Bryant
Michael Craig
Jeffery Dubose
Jasmine Nicole Flowers
Kristen Joy Fluker
Krista Faith Fluker
Yesenia Jaimes
Jessica Lockett
B J McNealy
Jhana Elise Plump
Maya Williams
Barry McNealy
Michelle Craig
Ahmad Ward

Special
Thanks
Balch & Bingham LP
Birmingham365.org
Birmingham Arts &
Music Festival
Birmingham Business
Resource Center
Birmingham Museum of Art
Birmingham Zoo
City of Birmingham
Coca-Cola Foundation
Claire and Boris Datnow
Norm and Carnetta Davis
Angela and Rodney Franklin
Bernard and Maye Frei
Greater Birmingham
Convention & Visitors Bureau
Hands-On-Birmingham
Inkanyeli Group
Kresge Arts in Birmingham
Loxion Kulca
Lamar Advertising
Mattie C. Stewart Foundation
National Society of Black Engineers –
Birmingham Area Chapter
Nichelle Gainey
Nonhlanhla Jones
Ashley Makar
SpringAGE
Urban League Young Professionals
Dafina Cooper Ward
WIAT CBS 42
Robert Williams
Asha and Jomo Xulu
Riedwaan Marshman
BCRI Board and Staff
Families of project participants

Photo Credits
Apartheid Museum / Jacqui Masiza
The Birmingham News / Tamika Moore
Media Mint publishing / Boris Datnow
Take Stock Photo / Matt Herron
For More Information
Laura Caldwell Anderson
Archivist
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
520 Sixteenth Street North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
landerson@bcri.org
Priscilla Hancock Cooper
Vice President of Institutional Programs
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
520 Sixteenth Street North
Birmingham, Alabama USA 35203
pcooper@bcri.org
Wayde Davy
Deputy Director
Apartheid Museum
Northern Parkway CNR/Gold Reef Road
2008 Ormonde Johannesburg
South Africa
wayded@apartheidmuseum.org
Jacqui Masiza
Archivist
Apartheid Museum
Northern Parkway CNR/Gold Reef Road
2008 Ormonde Johannesburg
South Africa
jacqui@apartheidmuseum.org

apartheidmuseum.org