“North Texas stopped being a spectator”: anti-apartheid efforts at the University of North Texas

Abstract

Nestled north of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex, the University of North Texas (UNT). UNT, formerly known as North Texas State University (NTSU), contributed to global anti-apartheid efforts. Sparked by NTSU students, protests, rallies, and lectures created a new arena for these young activists to voice concern and take action against the apartheid regime in South Africa during the late 1980s. Most studies regarding anti-apartheid activism tend to focus on often elite private universities or major flagship universities. This study helps fill in the gap regarding what happened at more working-class universities and colleges. This article tells the story of North Texas State University’s courageous students who led an on-campus grassroots campaign which contributed to the end of apartheid.