Sowetan Archive, 1981-today Explore South African life during and after the Apartheid era Quick Facts A leading anti-apartheid voice that became a nationally renowned newspaper Chronicles life in South Africa during and after apartheid, including politics, culture, sport, business and more A unique digital archive offers new opportunities for research and teaching Overview One of South Africa’s most prominent newspapers, the Sowetan was launched as a response to apartheid conditions in Soweto and other segregated communities. Impassioned editorials, engaging political columns and firsthand reporting soon helped The Sowetan become the country’s most widely circulated black paper. Now, each issue is available in a fully searchable digital archive, giving students and researchers unprecedented access to decades of South African history. An uncompromising editorial stance After the South African government banned publication of the Post Transvaal and three other black newspapers in 1980, journalists, editors and publishers began producing the English-language paper the Sowetan. This new paper captured the ongoing liberation struggle in stunning detail, bolstered by the contributions of legendary editors like Percy Qoboza and Aggrey Klaaste. Although writers covered major news and political issues from the perspective of disenfranchised communities, the paper wasn’t purely oppositional: it also engaged community members in nation-building initiatives, work that earned praise from Nelson Mandela. A window into South Africa Today, the Sowetan is available in all nine South African provinces and is an indispensable resource for understanding South African history and current events. Researchers can peruse articles, photographs, editorials, advertisements and more, uncovering fresh insight into politics, culture, sport, business, people, issues and events across nearly four decades. Topics include political assassinations, white supremacist groups, the fall of apartheid, readmission to the United Nations, financial instability, the AIDS epidemic and much more. A valuable digital edition With this searchable online resource, users can easily search and browse the complete archives of the Sowetan. Readex’s intuitive interface lets users view, magnify, print and save page images, as well as cross search related collections, including the Sunday Times, Rand Daily Mail and other titles spanning the continent. For more information on this and other NewsBank collections, call collect 1.802.875.2910 (Outside U.S. and Canada), email [email protected] or visit www.newsbank.com Int’l-052419.