4 of 4
United Democratic Front. One Year of United Action. 1984
Top: United Democratic Front (UDF) (South Africa, active 1983-1991). One Year of United Action. 1984. Screenprinted poster. Composition: 11 11/16 x 30 13/16" (29.7 x 78.2 cm); sheet: 11 15/16 x 33 3/4" (30.4 x 85.7 cm). Designer: Carl Becker. Publisher: United Democratic Front (UDF), Johannesburg. Printer: Screen Training Project (STP), Johannesburg. Edition: probably several hundred. General Print Fund, 2007. © 2011 United Democratic Front (UDF). Bottom: Activist Frances Baard speaks at a public rally for the national launch of UDF, Mitchell’s Plain township, near Cape Town, 1983. © 2011 Paul Weinberg, courtesy South African History Archive.
The United Democratic Front (UDF), a federation of democratic organizations and trade unions, was established in 1983 to fight constitutional reforms that would racially segregate South Africa’s parliament, leaving no representation for black people, who were considered citizens of Bantustans (separate territorial homelands), not of South Africa proper. UDF organized nationwide protests against these reforms and produced, through its Screen Training Project, scores of banners, posters, and T-shirts. One Year of United Action, which celebrates UDF’s first anniversary, is typical of the directness and symbolism of the group’s imagery; printed in red, black, and yellow, it emphasizes the racial diversity of its membership.