We got permission to post this article, which was written by Eric Covey, who teaches in the History Department at GVSU. The article originally appeared in Safundi: The Journal of South African and American Studies.

“The history of the anti-apartheid movement at Michigan’s flagship universities— Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing and the University of Michigan (UM) in Ann Arbor—is well-known. Also somewhat well-documented are events at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, which was the second institute of higher learning in Michigan to fully divest from South Africa, after MSU. Yet the anti-apartheid movement in the state’s western colleges and universities outside of Kalamazoo remains largely undocumented. Drawing on a small selection of archival documents, this essay explores the history of the anti-apartheid movement at Grand Valley State College (GVSC, now Grand Valley State University) in West Michigan, a region presently most well known for its conservative political climate. The micro-history that emerges from these documents is that of a campus movement that emerged relatively late compared to others, but which burned brightly in the context of major structural changes taking place at the college.”

To read the entire article go to this link.