Apartheid No!

White and pink text on a black button.

Apartheid was a system of complete racial segregation in South Africa from 1948-1994, which allowed the white minority to maintain control. Black South Africans were forced to carry special documents to enter restricted areas and, in 1970, they lost the right to vote. Some American businesses began to cut off trade with and investment in South African businesses in the mid 1970s. In the 1980s images of the struggles to end Apartheid in South Africa influenced many Americans to protest and demand economic boycotts of South Africa. There were protests on College campuses in the United States to divest from South Africa and in 1986 a bill came before Congress for the same purpose. Reagan vetoed the bill, but the Senate overrode his veto.

The Churches' Emergency Committee on Southern Africa (C.E.C.S.A.) was formed in 1986 and asked banks with loans to South Africa not to renew them as a way of protesting apartheid. They also lobbied the U.S. government to place economic sanctions on South Africa. This button was a part of their efforts.