Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Physical Archives

Description: Gay J. McDougall South Africa and Namibia Papers and the records of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Southern Africa Project. McDougall served as the Director of the Southern Africa Project for 14 years and was the only American to be appointed to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). The McDougall papers contain unique documentation of the activities and decisions of the IEC from the perspective of a member of the Commission and reveal a day-by-day detailed picture of the challenges confronted by the Commission in mounting South Africa’s first democratic elections. The papers document a pivotal period between 1980-1994 when Ms. McDougall and lawyers in South Africa and Namibia collaborated on the defense of and gained the release of thousands of political prisoners and detainees imprisoned during the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and Namibia. Among the papers is a collection of nearly 100 files on the trials of the political activists supported by the Southern Africa Project including non-confidential communications between McDougall and the lawyers representing those activists. Additionally, the papers document Ms. McDougall's role in the United States-based anti-apartheid movement and the international networking that took place among activists, including efforts to influence U.S. foreign policy. Other key events and topics reflected in the collections include the establishment of the Commission on Independence for Namibia, and the development of judicial and constitutional norms, institutions, and legislation during the post-apartheid transitional period.

Description: Douglas Wachholz was the first director of the Southern Africa Project of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law from 1973-1975 (originally called the Africa Legal Assistance Project). The purpose of the Project was to provide legal assistance both to victims of racial repression in Southern Africa and to individuals and organizations in the United States working to pro mote human rights in Southern Africa. The project provided legal assistance to black political leaders and other opponents of apartheid in South Africa and Namibia who have been detained incommunicado or arrested under one of the many repressive statutes. The collection includes extensive material related to the case American Committee on Africa v. The New York Times which for Wachholz served as the lead lawyer for the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and other plaintiffs, a position he continued after leaving the staff of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The collection was donated by Douglas Wachholz.