Petition to free the SASO 9 as presented to the UN Committe Against Apartheid: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This petition to free the SASO 9 was to be presented to the UN Committee Against Apartheid. The top of the page reads: [FREE THE SASO 9 / FREE APARTHEID PRISONERS / To the UN Human Rights Commission, / UN Headquarters, New York. / HELP SAVE LIVES! STUDENTS FACE DEATH! / We are outraged by the violations of human rights and disregard for human dignity exhibited by the apartheid regime of / South Africa in the detention of SASO 9, SWAPO, NUSAS 5 and all political prisoners. Nine officers of the South African / Students Organization (SASO) have been incarcerated since 1974. On March 16, 1976, seven more SASO members were / detained, one of whom, Mr. Joseph Ndull, was tortured to death by the South African Secret Police. All 16 students face death sentences.]. The rest of the page is numbered 1-20 where people can sign their name, address and phone number. The back of the page is blank.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1970s
• Created by: Committee to Free the SASO 9, American
• Subject of: South West Africa People's Organization, Namibian, founded 1960
• Subject of: United Nations, founded 1945
• Subject of: South African Student Organisation, South African, 1968 - 1977
• Type: petitions
• Medium: ink on paper
• Dimensions: H x W (Sheet): 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: South Africa, Africa
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: Black power
• Topic: International affairs
• Topic: U.S. History, 1969-2001
• Object number: 2015.97.27.17
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.