October 1986

Congress overrides President Reagan's veto to pass the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act, imposing sanctions on South Africa — a major legislative victory for the Black American-led Free South Africa Movement and TransAfrica, representing the culmination of years of organized Black political pressure.

Nigerian playwright and poet Wole Soyinka wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first African to receive the award. His recognition resonates powerfully in the Black American literary world, which is in dialogue with African literary traditions through the decade.