South Africa Catalyst Project

The South Africa Catalyst Project was formed in June 1977 by 20 Stanford community members involved in the Stanford Committee for a Responsible Investment Policy (SCRIP). It was created in response to requests from college activists interested in changing American foreign policy and ending university investments in South Africa. The Project produced an organizer's handbook and sponsored a full-time traveler to distribute information about the role of U.S. investment in South Africa and catalyze activity on California campuses. Another collective was later formed in the Northeast. The Catalyst Project provided support and information about alternative investments and current anti-apartheid activity to a growing campus network. From 1979 to 1981, Chris Hables Gray served as research director and traveling organizer for the South Africa Catalyst Project. It wound up in 1982, although some activities may have continued on the East Coast. (Source: Lawrence Litvak and South Africa: Foreign Investment and Apartheid, Institute for Policy Studies, 1978)