The report says the divestment campaign has achieved significant victories in the past two years. For the first time, the question of U.S. support for South African racism is being debated publicly across the U.S. Activists are under tremendous pressure from the companies that oppose divestment. The U.S. Conference of Mayors voted unanimously to promote divestment in their cities; a next step would be for the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) to organize a conference of mayors on the subject, hosted by the mayor of a city such as Boston, Minneapolis or Chicago. The question of removals is one of the most urgent and serious aspects of the apartheid policy. During the past 20 years, 3.5 million...
The report says the divestment campaign has achieved significant victories in the past two years. For the first time, the question of U.S. support for South African racism is being debated publicly across the U.S. Activists are under tremendous pressure from the companies that oppose divestment. The U.S. Conference of Mayors voted unanimously to promote divestment in their cities; a next step would be for the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) to organize a conference of mayors on the subject, hosted by the mayor of a city such as Boston, Minneapolis or Chicago. The question of removals is one of the most urgent and serious aspects of the apartheid policy. During the past 20 years, 3.5 million people in South Africa have been forced to move from their homes and a further two million are under threat of removal. The report says ACOA plans a campaign around removals which will culminate in a "removals week" in ten selected U.S. cities. A major publicity effort, aimed at church groups, college students, high schools, etc. will precede the campaign. The report mentions the City University of New York, the New York City Employees' Retirement System, Mayor Koch, Council President Carol Bellamy, Harrison J. Golden, Mayor Raymond L. Flynn, City Councilor Charles C. Yancy, the Sullivan Principles, Leon H. Sullivan, General Motors (GM), the NAACP, Henry F. Owens III, the Reagan Administration, Citicorp, Manufacturers Hanover, Walter Mondale, Jennifer Davis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Rep. Stephen J. Solarz, Congress, jobs, Dumisani S. Kumalo, D. Reid Weedon, Arthur D. Little, the South African Institute for Race Relations, Krugerrands, trade unions, and Bantustans. Reprinted newspaper articles including "City U cuts South Africa ties," "Pension Fund to Divest South Africa Holdings" by David W. Dunlap, "Boston mayor urges US cities to divest South African investments" by Cheryl C. Sullivan, and "More Municipalities Cutting Ties to South Africa" by Colin Campbell.
