1990 – South African Student Movement Marches for Mandela

On May 15, 1990, student-led demonstrations across U.S. and European campuses called for increased pressure on South Africa to fully dismantle apartheid and ensure the unconditional release of Nelson Mandela. Though Mandela had been released earlier that year (February), student activists demanded deeper reforms, including the removal of all apartheid-era laws and full voting rights for Black South Africans. At Howard, Berkeley, and Oxford, thousands marched, drawing international media coverage and emphasizing the global solidarity between Black youth in the diaspora and South African freedom fighters. These marches were part of a wave of activism that had surged throughout the 1980s and helped pressure corporations and universities to divest from apartheid South Africa. May 15 stands as a reminder of the role of student activism in global justice movements and how Black youth led powerful cross-continental demands for liberation.