Message to the Grass Roots: South Africa Will Be Free!

An episode of Message to the Grass Roots, a cable access talk show produced & hosted by Michael Zinzun from 1988-1998 at Pasadena Community Access Corporation, which is now Pasadena Media . This program focuses on South Africa.

00:00Copy video clip URL Color bars.

1:30Copy video clip URL “Message to the Grass Roots with Michael Zinzun: South Africa Will Be Free!” Guests: “Norman Levinrad, Ntathu Mbatha, and Sipho Nyawo.” Montage of African people by filmmaker Meena Nanji, created from footage from “Spear of the Nation” and audio from South African duo, Sipho and Johnny. 

4:45Copy video clip URL Zinzun gives an overview of the status of South Africa and the active attempts being made for change. Mbatha speaks about the African National Congress. Nyawo talks about a South African student liberation group. Levinrad also speaks about the ANC. Zinzun plays a clip about the ANC.

12:23Copy video clip URL Zinzun asks Mbathu to talk about the current state of emergency in South Africa. Levinrad speaks about the goals of the ANC. They speak about their charter that asserts that South Africa belongs to all who live there. Commercial break. 

17:45Copy video clip URL Zinzun asks Levinrad to explain their “common purpose” law, and he describes a case in which the law has led to injustice. Nyawo speaks about the forces that prevent students from organizing. Levinrad mentions the importance of international support. Clip about Apartheid. 

25:00Copy video clip URL Mbatha speaks about the roles that women have played in the freedom movement. Levinrad speaks about the roles of white workers, and how Apartheid is not a purely racial struggle. Commercial break. 

33:00Copy video clip URL Nyawo talks about their movements on university campuses around the United States. Levinrad speaks briefly about the poor economic system. Clip of a protest in the United States for South Africa. They give people information about how they can actively help South Africa. Commercial break. 

47:10Copy video clip URL They take a phone call from a woman who asks about why people do not know about people dying in their efforts to find justice. Levinrad speaks about the press. Another caller asks about the role of Israel. Mbathu speaks about how they have been involved in South Africa. They play a clip about economic sanctions. 

57:48Copy video clip URL Interview ends. Clip of Nelson Mandela. Credits. Footage behind credits of a protest Zinzun organized outside the LA South African Consulate. 

1:00:05Copy video clip URL Tape ends.