Richard Knight

Consultant: Africa • Human Rights • U.S. Policy • Economic Justice • Corporate Responsibility

 

www.richardknight.com is a source of current information on Africa, human rights and economic justice. You will find information on overcoming the legacy of apartheid, canceling Africa’s debt and the struggle for self-determination in Western Sahara.  Also on this site you will find historical information on apartheid South Africa and the struggle for sanctions and disinvestment.  For over two decades I worked at the American Committee on Africa and The Africa Fund.  On this site you will find much of the material I wrote as well as current information and useful links.  Not all items noted below are up yet and more will be added later. Currently I am working as a consultant based in New York City.

 

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Especially recommended – The African Activist Archive Project, a project of the African Studies Center at Michigan State University, is working to preserve for history the record of activities of U.S. organizations and individuals that supported African struggles for freedom and had significant collective impact on U.S. policy.  Hundreds of organizations existed in states and cities and on college and universities across the country. We are locating people who were activists. Many of those we locate have historical material and in many cases we help people place the material in a collection in a library for long term preservation.   Much of the focus was sanctions and divestment from companies doing business in apartheid South Africa. This democratization of foreign policy was unprecedented, and it is important that the lessons learned be documented for the benefit of continuing social justice activism. The project’s growing website has more than 8,500 historical items including documents (leaflets, newsletters, pamphlets, mailings, testimonies, etc.), posters, photos, buttons, T-shirts, audio and video. Go to Browse to see items by type. Also in Browse see the hundreds of organizations of which there are descriptions; the number after a name is the number of items on the website related to that organization.

 

 

Curriculum Vitae

"a short account of one's career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position" — Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

 

Yes, Richard Knight is available for consulting and other work.

 

Selected Bibliography of Richard Knight

Includes current material.  Many items relate to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, including sanctions and divestment.  Some are available on-line.

 

Links

A selection of links to some of my favorite Web sites in the U.S., Africa and around the world.

                                    

African Development and Political Economy

Africa is the poorest and most economically underdeveloped continent.  But Africa has natural resources, especially oil, which could be used for economic development and to fight poverty.  Developed countries, transnational corporations and international financial institutions such as the World Bank, which in the past have often inhibited African development, will play a key role in the continent’s success or failure.

 

Western Sahara

Since its founding in 1973 the Polisario Front has led the people of Western Sahara in the struggle for self-determination and independence, first against Spain and now against Morocco.  The Polisario formed government, the SADR is a member of the African Union.  Richard Knight visited Western Sahara in 1979.  The Bush administration is supporting Morocco. The U.S. oil company Kerr-McGee is exploring for oil off the coast of Western Sahara with permission from the SADR. In 2004 the South African government recognized the SADR government, which is a member of the African Union.

 

African Music and Documentaries on CD, DVD and VHS

African music is often related to political struggles. Music played an important role in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and in the struggle against the military dictatorships in Nigeria. You can buy the music here.

 

Zimbabwe – Current and historical information

 

Cancel Africa's Debt - The campaign to cancel the debt of the world’s poorest countries

 

Books on Africa and the International Solidarity Movement

Many of these books can be purchased online.

 

South Africa and the Struggle Against Apartheid

 

Campaign for Sanctions and Divestment

 

Arms Embargo against South Africa

In 1977 the United Nations adopted a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa.

 

Carnegie Hall’s South African Sounds Teaching Guide, poster and music CD 

Music and the struggle against apartheid from the 1950s through the 1990s.

 

Articles about or quoting Richard Knight and his letters to the editor including US Brigade Aids Mandela's Fight that columnist Jack Newfield wrote about Richard Knight in the New York Daily News.

 

Dumisani S. Kumalo

For many years Dumisani Kumalo was the Projects Director of the American Committee on Africa and The Africa Fund.  He is now South Africa's Ambassador to the United Nations.

 

South Africa Today

South Africa is now a democracy and apartheid has ended. Much has been accomplished but poverty and unemployment remain stubbornly high. An estimated 5.5 million people are HIV-positive.

 

And now for something completely different.

 

Tales of E. T. A. Hoffmann

E.T.A. Hoffmann was a German writer who influenced Hawthorne and Poe.  He is the author of Nutcracker, the story on which Tchaikovsky based his ballet Nutcracker Suite.  Hoffmann’s work has been translated into English.  Learn about Hoffmann and how to purchase an English translation of his work.