ABSTRACT
In late 1984, two separate events occurred on opposite sides of the globe which culminated in the most dramatic and unexpected social movement in recent US history. Last September, approximately 50,000 mineworkers went on strike inside South Africa. Mobilising millions of nonwhites, the United Democratic Front, a multiracial coalition of more than 600 groups, initiated a series of protest actions. Tensions peaked on 5-6 November, when one million workers staged a general strike. The apartheid regime responded in the only language it comprehends. Almost 200 people were murdered, several thousand were detained without charges, and roughly 6,000 labourers were dismissed from their jobs.
