Flashpoint

This book provides a unique perspective on the anti-apartheid movement in the United States through its examination of a little-remembered rugby tour across the country by South Africa’s national team. The tour became a flashpoint for the nation’s burgeoning protests against apartheid and a test of national values and American foreign policy.

Derek Charles Catsam is professor of history and the Kathlyn Cosper Dunagan Professor in the Humanities at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin where he teaches courses on race, politics, and sports in the US and South Africa. He is the author of Freedom's Main Line: The Journey of Reconciliation and the Freedom Rides and has published extensively on the history of race and politics in the US and South Africa. Catsam is a senior research associate at Rhodes University and serves as reviews editor of Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies. Most recently, he appeared in the award-winning PBS American Experience film Freedom Riders.

Acknowledgments Preface: Rise up Zwide! Introduction Chapter 1: The Accidental Tourists: Planning for the United States Tour Chapter 2: Starting to Play and Preparing For Battle: The Irish in South Africa, Planning to Resist in America Chapter 3: Apart Hate: Planning to Resist the Springboks Chapter 4: The 1981 Springbok Tour to New Zealand: A Country Divided Chapter 5: Cloaks, Daggers, and Rugby: The Springboks in the Midwest Chapter 6: Albany I: Facing Off in the Courts and Against the Colonials Chapter 7: Albany II: The Test Match Conclusion: The Long Tail of Post-1981 South African Rugby Bibliography Index About the Author