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During the 20th century, South Africa was a nation where a racial minority of white settlers held political power over the black citizens who represented a sizable majority of the population. In 1948, the South African government established a set of laws that severely limited the civil, economic, and political freedoms of black citizens, a policy which came to be known as apartheid. In the 1970s and '80s, as more Americans became aware of South Africa's institutionalized racism, many began to call for the United States government to use its power to lobby for an end to apartheid. However, the abundance of strategic minerals in South Africa made the nation an ally of many American corporations, and President Ronald Reagan publicly expressed his belief that an economic boycott or other sanctions against South Africa would hurt the nation's blacks rather than help them. Many Americans disagreed, and a grass-roots movement sprung up among politicians, community leaders, activists, and concerned citizens that led Congress to pass legislation mandating sanctions against South Africa in 1986 -- and when Reagan vetoed the bill, Congress voted to override him and make it law. The documentary Have You Heard From Johannesburg?: Apartheid and the Club of the West explores how Americans of conscience banded together to challenge their nation's support of a racist government; the film is part of a projected series of documentaries on the rise and fall of apartheid in South Africa.