40 years ago today - Jul 18, 1974

AFRICA TODAY reports that BYU singing group "Brigham Young University Sounds" toured South Africa. The usual name of the group, "Sounds of Freedom" was changed for this trip. The white apartheid government of South Africa thought the word "freedom" might be too politically charged, since it is normally associated with the struggle for black majority rule. The group performed with the South African Defense Forces Band and proceeds from the concerts benefitted the South African Border Relief Fund and the Rhodesian Terrorist Victims' Relief Fund. According to AFRICA NEWS, "Both funds were set up by whites to support military efforts against African [black] guerrilla movements seeking majority rule."

[Source: On This Day in Mormon History, http://onthisdayinmormonhistory.blogspot.com, based on Michael Quinn's Mormon Hierarchy vols 1 & 2]