Contents: A Call to Action • THE CRISIS • A CHALLENGE TO THE U.S. CHURCH • FROM PENTECOST TO SOWETO • HOW TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN • UNTIL SOUTH AFRICA IS FREE • RESOURCE GUIDE • The pamphlet says in the early morning of August 31, 1988, the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in Johannesburg, was rocked by the most powerful bomb used in South African history. No one was killed, but the bombing did extensive damage and rendered the building uninhabitable by the several organizations housed there. The explosion at Khotso House, the "House of Peace," marked yet another stage in the crisis in South Africa since 1985. Just six weeks later, an arson fire gutted...
Contents: A Call to Action • THE CRISIS • A CHALLENGE TO THE U.S. CHURCH • FROM PENTECOST TO SOWETO • HOW TO JOIN THE CAMPAIGN • UNTIL SOUTH AFRICA IS FREE • RESOURCE GUIDE • The pamphlet says in the early morning of August 31, 1988, the headquarters of the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in Johannesburg, was rocked by the most powerful bomb used in South African history. No one was killed, but the bombing did extensive damage and rendered the building uninhabitable by the several organizations housed there. The explosion at Khotso House, the "House of Peace," marked yet another stage in the crisis in South Africa since 1985. Just six weeks later, an arson fire gutted two floors at Khanya House, the Pretoria offices of the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference (SACBC). Since the imposition of a national "State of Emergency" in June 1986, thousands have died in unrest-related disturbances; more than 40,000 people have been detained - 40% of them children under 18 and 10% of them women. It is conservatively estimated that 700 South Africans have been convicted as political prisoners; at least 415 have been sentenced to death and hanged. U.S. church representatives formed the South Africa Crisis Coordinating Committee (SACCC) to organize a coordinated and sustained ecumenical response to this crisis. The SACCC includes representatives of the African Methodist Episcopal Church; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church; American Baptist Churches; American Committee on Africa (ACOA); Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Christian Methodist Episcopal Church; Church Women United; Clergy and Laity Concerned; Episcopal Church; Evangelicals for Social Action; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR); National Baptist Convention (USA); National Baptist Convention of America; National Council of Churches; National House of the Lord Church; Progressive National Baptist Convention; Presbyterian Church USA; Sojourners; U.S. Catholic Conference; United Church of Christ; United Methodist Church; Washington Office on Africa (WOA); and World Council of Churches, U.S. Office. The pamphlet mentions Catholic Sister Bernard Ncube, Lutheran Dean Simon Farisani, Father Smangaliso Mkhatshwa, anti-apartheid activism, Archbishop Stephen Naidoo, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Reverend Allan Boesak, Reverend Frank Chikane, banning of 17 organizations, PENTECOST SUNDAY, DAYS OF FASTING AND PRAYER, NATIONAL SPEAKING TOURS, FRIDAY LOBBY DAY, SATURDAY WITNESS AND ACTION, corporate campaigns, the National Shell Boycott Campaign, The Africa Fund, Amnesty International, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Southern Africa Project, banks, Cannicor Research, television, South Africa Now c/o GlobalVision, Africa News, Divestment/Disinvestment, the United Church Board for World Ministries Africa Office, Worship/Bible Studies Material, Friendship Press, Torch in the Night, sanctions, TransAfrica, videos, detainees, a hunger strike, California Newsreel Southern Africa Media Center, and Lutheran World Ministries.
