ASSIGNMENT 2
2025 (Answer
Guide)
QUESTIONS WITH 100%
VERIFIED AND
CERTIFIED ANSWERS.
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PSC3701 ASSIGNMENT 2 2025 (Answer Guide)
VERIFIED AND CERTIFIED ANSWERS. WRITTEN IN REQUIRED FORMAT AND WITHIN
GIVEN GUIDELINES. IT IS GOOD TO USE AS A GUIDE AND FOR REFERENCE, NEVER
PLAGARIZE. Thank you and success in your academics.
UNISA, 2025
ARTICLE 1
Introduction
This assignment is based on the article by Blackman (2012), titled African Americans,
Pan Africanism, and the Anti-Apartheid Campaign to Expel South Africa from the 1968
Olympics. The article examines the intersection of sport, politics, and international
solidarity, particularly focusing on the contributions of African Americans and Pan-
Africanist movements in the struggle against apartheid.
The purpose of this assignment is to critically analyse the article by addressing four
main questions: (a) providing an overview of the article, (b) identifying its main themes,
(c) outlining how it connects with the curriculum of Contemporary Issues in Politics:
Capita Selecta, and (d) offering a personal critical reflection on whether one agrees with
the article’s findings. In doing so, the analysis demonstrates the relevance of
Blackman’s work to broader debates on race, politics, identity, and global activism.
Section A: Overview of the Article
Blackman (2012) situates his discussion within the historical context of the late 1960s,
when apartheid in South Africa had drawn widespread global condemnation. He
explores how African Americans, inspired by both the civil rights and Black Power
movements in the United States, collaborated with African leaders and activists to
oppose South Africa’s inclusion in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.
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The article demonstrates how this campaign formed part of a broader anti-apartheid
movement that used international sports as a political battleground. African American
athletes, intellectuals, and activists connected the racial injustices they experienced in
the United States with those suffered by Black South Africans under apartheid. By
mobilising public opinion and leveraging political pressure, they successfully lobbied the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude South Africa from the Games.
Blackman (2012) argues that the campaign illustrates the power of non-state actors in
shaping global politics. At a time when many governments were hesitant to act
decisively against apartheid, it was grassroots activism, diaspora solidarity, and
intellectual mobilisation that pushed the issue into the international spotlight. The article
also shows how Pan-Africanism acted as a unifying ideology, creating bonds between
African Americans and Africans in the broader fight against white supremacy and racial
injustice.
Ultimately, the exclusion of South Africa from the 1968 Olympics was a significant
symbolic victory that foreshadowed the country’s wider sporting isolation in subsequent
decades. Blackman (2012) concludes that sport, often perceived as apolitical, can serve
as a powerful platform for political struggle and resistance.
Section B: Main Themes of the Article
The article is rich in historical detail and political analysis, but several overarching
themes stand out clearly:
1. Pan-Africanism as a Political and Ideological Force
Pan-Africanism emerges as one of the central themes of the article. Blackman (2012)
illustrates how the philosophy of unity among people of African descent across the
globe inspired collaboration between African American activists and African leaders.
This ideological framework provided the legitimacy and motivation for African Americans