Voices of resistance
Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa brings together more than 27,000 objects and 190,000 pages of documents and images detailing the liberation movements that reshaped Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe in the 20th century.
About Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa
Struggles for Freedom centers the complex and varied liberation struggles of Southern Africa. It comprises 76 sub-collections drawn from archives and libraries around the world and supports teaching and research in African studies, anthropology, art and art history, ethnicity and race relations, gender studies, history, international studies, language and literature, law, political science, and sociology.
It features a wide range of materials—including periodicals, pamphlets, and local newspaper reports; nationalist publications; records of colonial government commissions; UN documents; personal papers and correspondence; out-of-print books; photographs; and speeches and interviews—offering a multifaceted view of the struggle against colonialism and apartheid across Southern Africa.
Why it matters
Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa offers a deeply human perspective on the region’s liberation movements. The collection highlights both the grassroots and international dimensions of resistance—spanning the voices of activists, exiles, and global solidarity networks. It enables researchers to trace the evolution of freedom movements and the legacies of colonialism and apartheid that continue to shape Southern Africa today.
Collection highlights
- Oral Histories: Interviews with key participants in the liberation movements
- Pieter Boersma Photograph Collection: Images documenting European solidarity campaigns and the South African struggle
- Zimbabwe Serials: Publications spanning 1964-1998, tracing political change and nation-building
- Materials selected by national advisory committees in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwes
Global collaboration and partnerships
This collection was developed with the guidance of national advisory committees composed of leading scholars, archivists, and public intellectuals across Southern Africa and beyond. Contributing partners include:
- Botswana: National Archives of Botswana and Botswana National Advisory Committee
- Canada: Toronto Committee for the Liberation of Southern Africa (TCLSAC)
- Mozambique: Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique, Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO); Samora Machel Documentation Center (MACHEL)
- Namibia: National Archives of Namibia
- Netherlands: Netherlands institute for Southern Africa (NiZA) and National Archives of Botswana
- Portugal: Direcção-Geral De Arquivos, Arquivo Nacional Da Torre Do Tombo
- South Africa: Cory Library, Rhodes University (Grahamstown); Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA); Monash University; National Archives of South Africa; National Library of South Africa; South African History Archive (SAHA); Manuscripts and Archives Department, University of Cape Town; University of Kwa-Zulu Natal; University of Witwatersrand, Historical Papers
- Sweden: Nordic Africa Institute, Nordic Documentation on Liberation of Southern Africa
- Switzerland: World Council of Churches Archive and Library
- United Kingdom: Anti-Apartheid Movement Archives Committee; Bodleian Library of Commonwealth and African Studies at Rhodes House, University of Oxford (BODLIB); London School of Economics
- United States: African Activist Archive; American Committee on Africa/The Africa Fund; Center for Research Libraries; Northwestern University, Melville J. Herkovits Library of African Studies; Princeton University, Firestone Library; University of North Carolina, Manuscripts Department at the Wilson Library; University of Southern California; Yale University
- Zimbabwe: National Archives of Zimbabwe; University of Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe National Advisory Committee; Zimbabwe African National Union
Collection background
Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa was originally developed by Aluka, an international collaborative initiative dedicated to building a digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa. In 2008, Aluka became part of JSTOR, ensuring the long-term preservation and accessibility of this vital resource.
The name Aluka derives from a Zulu word meaning “to weave,” symbolizing the project’s mission to connect archives, scholars, and communities worldwide.
The collection was made possible through generous support from the Mellon Foundation and the Arcadia Fund.
Get access
Bring Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa to your institution
Gain access to one of JSTOR’s most powerful primary source collections—more than 27,000 objects and 190,000 pages documenting the liberation movements that reshaped Southern Africa in the 20th century.
Access the voices that reshaped a continent
Dive into more than 27,000 objects documenting the liberation movements of Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Use this form to learn more about bringing the collection to your institution.
Note: Items marked with * are required.
View image credits from this page
1000 Days of Repression. n.d. Digital Innovation South Africa. Part of South African History Archive Posters, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa.
1984 UDF Unites. January 1, 1984. Digital Innovation South Africa. Part of South African History Archive Posters, Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa.
Get Struggles for Freedom: Southern Africa
Access the voices that reshaped a continent
Dive into more than 27,000 objects documenting the liberation movements of Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Use this form to learn more about bringing the collection to your institution.
Note: Items marked with * are required.