African Activist Archive

This testimony supports divestment from companies doing business in South Africa as an act of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in South Africa in our common struggle for justice and dignity. As long as apartheid can exploit cheap Black labor, U.S. jobs and salaries will be in jeopardy. For example, automobile workers in Detroit and Kalamazoo remember how workers here were laid off while Ford Motor Company expanded its operations in South Africa, and steelworkers in Illinois remember being laid off while the state was constructing public buildings with steel imported from South Africa. The testimony says there has been increased momentum in the exodus of American corporations from South Africa since the Divestiture Study Committee submitted its reports. During the past five years, 179 U.S. corporations have sold or closed down their South Africa operations, expanding the universe of South Africa-free investment opportunities. Cities, counties, and states have continued to divest; now there are 79 cities, 19 counties and 24 states with divestment legislation that has resulted in $20 billion divested from U.S. corporations doing business in South Africa. Ann Arbor and Flint are among those who have begun to implement divestment legislation. The largest pension fund in the U.S., TIAA-CREF, led by former Michigan State University president Clifton Wharton, has begun a process of prudent divestment. The testimony says the South African government has twice renewed the State of Emergency, and totalitarian repression has become permanent. The testimony points out that, in each of the past three years, Kalamazoo's portfolio has underperformed the market, while there were South Africa Free portfolios that outperformed the market. The testimony recommends that the City do the following: write to Congress to convey our support for increased sanctions against South Africa; declare Nelson Mandela Day in honor of the imprisoned leader's 7lst birthday; initiate education programs to help people learn more about apartheid and its implications for Kalamazoo; and explore the possibility of selective purchasing from companies not involved in South Africa. The testimony discusses the City Manager, Beate Klein, U.S. Trust Company, Public Act 55, Trudy Ring, Pension and Investment Age, Harris Associates of Chicago, T. Rowe Price Associates of Baltimore, Franklin Asset Management of San Mateo California, Lipper Analytical Services, the Parnassus Fund, Ariel Growth, Edmund T. Bennet, the Brian Rom Company, and Uprooting Poverty in South Africa by Francis Wilson and Mamphela Ramphele.

African Activist Archive

Kalamazoo Divestment From South Africa

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