Interview with Funeka Sihlali

Length: 92 minutes Oral history interview of Funeka Sihlali by Renell Schubert Ms. Sihlali begins by describing her childhood in King William’s Town when the Apartheid regime was instituted, living in government housing with her family in a single-room house with no bathroom, sharing a toilet with four other households. She explains having to learn the customs which were different from that in her home, for example, to look at African elders was a sign of disrespect, but outside of the home, she had to learn to make eye contact with white people to keep them from seeing her as shiftless and mischievous. She details her involvement in the movement, both in South Africa and later in Chicago, helping her cousin, Owen Vana, a reporter for the Daily Dispatch, write letters that an Anglican Bishop would send out in Johannesburg to deliver information to those in communication. She mentions helping children who were having trouble going to school, assisting others who wanted to leave the country, and participating in public demonstrations. Sihlali describes her involvement in Chicago in CISSA through collecting donations and hosting rallies, identifying companies holding South African pension funds, as well as performing the role of an educator, offering on-the-ground insights as a South African