African Activist Archive

Memorandum to members of the Southern Africa Task Force with a draft of a letter, and draft of a "Call to Protest American Bank Loans to South Africa". The memorandum says neither of the enclosed documents were edited at the meeting held at the offices of the American Committee on Africa on January 18; they were prepared by the ACOA staff, and it is possible that they will undergo some revision, but basically they will not be altered. The memorandum says six or seven organizations were represented at the January 18 meeting, called by the ACOA; included were CALC, the Episcopal Church, the FOR, the YWCA, ICCR, and AFSC; we decided to form "The Committee to Oppose Bank Loans to South Africa"; the Committee is to be described as "initiated by the American Committee on Africa". The memorandum says throughout the campaign emphasis would be placed upon persuading organizations (in particular) and individuals to withdraw their accounts from banks involved in making the loans; these banks are found primarily in three locations: New York City, Chicago, and California (Bank of America). The memorandum says Paul Irish of ACOA will bring us up to date on the Bank Loan Campaign on February 17; we will discuss how AFSC relates to it in our Task Force meeting on February 18, possibly making a recommendation to the Nationwide Peace Education Committee. The memorandum says Henry Foner of the Fur and Leatherworkers Union arrived very late, but pledged full support for the campaign. Enclosed with the memorandum are A Call to Protest American Bank Loans to South Africa, A Call to the People of New York, Illinois, and California Not to Use Banks Making Loans to the Racist Government of South Africa, TABLE I MAJOR LOANS TO SOUTH AFRICA BY U.S. BANKS - 1976, and The Committee to Oppose Bank Loans to South Africa. The memorandum and enclosures discuss Citibank, Chase Manhattan, Manufacturers Hanover, Morgan Guarantee, First National Bank of Chicago, Continental Illinois, the European American Banking Corp., the Bank of New York; the European Banking International Corp. in Chicago; Barclays Bank, racism, resistance, Soweto, the Christian Institute, the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM), the Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), the South African Broadcasting Corporation, Richards Bay Minerals, gold, Senator Dick Clark, the Senate Subcommittee on African Affairs, U.S. banks and apartheid, Fluor, SASOL, EX-Im (Export-Import Bank) credit, Dillion Reade, Peter Flanigan, and the Council on International Economic Affairs.

African Activist Archive

Bank Loan Campaign

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