Tag Archives: Steve Kitson

Fighting Apartheid in Islington

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Gavin Brown

Here are details of a new exhibition at the Islington Museum about the history of anti-apartheid campaigning in that borough. Gavin advised the curators about the history of the Kitson family (who lived in the borough) and some of the tensions … Continue reading →

Posted in Dissemination, Gavin Brown, Popular & Informal Education, Project staff | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Youth Activism & Solidarity: a dedication

Posted on November 28, 2017 by Gavin Brown

Now that Youth Activism and Solidarity: the Non-Stop Picket against Apartheid has been published and had its launch, we wanted to share the book’s dedication. We have told the stories of Norma, David and Steve Kitson on this blog a number … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic, Dissemination, Interview material, Popular & Informal Education | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mementos of Steve Kitson

Posted on November 12, 2017 by Gavin Brown

Sunday 12 November 2017 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Steven Kitson. Steve was born in 1957 as the eldest child of the South African communists and anti-apartheid activists David and Norma Kitson. In the 1980s, he became … Continue reading →

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“It was a dark and stormy night” (against apartheid)

Posted on October 15, 2017 by Gavin Brown

This weekend England is remembering the 30th anniversary of “The Great Storm” of 1987. On the night of 15 October, the South of England and France’s Atlantic coast were hit by one of the most powerful storms in living memory. … Continue reading →

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A parcel from Cape Town (and a letter from Robben Island)

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Gavin Brown

A thick envelope covered in South African stamps arrived in my office just before Easter. It contained copies of correspondence relating to the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group from the Mayibuye Archive at the University of Western Cape. We have to … Continue reading →

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Stories from the green crates: exploring Steve Kitson’s papers

Posted on March 7, 2014 by Gavin Brown

There are two green, plastic crates full of papers sat on the end of my desk. They smell a little damp. My office smells a little damp. The papers are squeezed so tightly into the boxes that I fear for … Continue reading →

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Soundscapes of the Non-Stop Picket

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Gavin Brown

As former Non-Stop Picketers gather in London for the funeral of Ken Bodden, who was so central to the musical culture of the picket, it seems appropriate to share some of the sounds of their anti-apartheid protest. From its earliest … Continue reading →

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“Being arrested is now a way of life”

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Gavin Brown

One useful way for a protest group to gain sympathetic coverage in the mainstream media can be to enrol the assistance of a well-known and seemingly neutral observer.  In June 1987 the novelist Lynne Reid Banks placed a feature article … Continue reading →

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Steven Kitson: anti-apartheid activist who introduced protest samba to Britain

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Gavin Brown

This last week has also marked the fifteenth anniversary of the untimely death of Steven Kitson.  Steve, the son of Norma and David Kitson, died of cancer at the age of 40 on 12 November 1997.  Like his parents, Steve was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Archival research | Tagged , , , , , , | 14 Comments

David Kitson: a South African communist remembered

Posted on November 16, 2012 by Gavin Brown

Ian David Kitson died in Johannesburg on 9 November 2010 at the age of 91.  Although he played no direct role in the formation of the City of London Anti-Apartheid Group, it is possible to argue that without him the group … Continue reading →

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