Ron Dellums
Ronald V. ‘Ron’ Dellums was the first African American from Northern California to be elected to Congress, where he served from 1971-1998. He campaigned for the U.S. to end support for apartheid-era in South Africa which he began his campaign in 1972 with a bill calling for divestment in South Africa. 14 years later, the U.S. House of Representatives passed anti-apartheid legislation calling for sanctions against South Africa. President Reagan vetoed the bill, calling instead for a policy of ‘constructive engagement’, but his veto was over-ridden. The Dellums' bill never became law, but added to the pressures on South Africa to free Mandela by passing in the House of Representative on two separate occasions. Dellums' fight against apartheid was the subject of the film, The Colour of Friendship. From 2007-2011, he was The Mayor of Oakland, California.