$TOP BANKING ON APARTHEID Campaign - General Meeting

Contents: Place and date • Those present • REPORTS OF WORKING GROUPS AND DISCUSSION • MOBILIZATION • PUBLICITY • FINANCE • COMING MEETINGS • Minutes of the Stop Banking on Apartheid Campaign general meeting on March 15, 1987. The minutes say those present included Corlis Bell, NCSAW; Bonnie Colton, NCSAL; Robert DeGrasse, Mid-peninsula Conversion Project; Bea Gillette, Ecumenical Peace Institute/Clergy and Laity Concerned; Miloanne Hecathorn, $top Banking on Apartheid Campaign; Jody Parsons, Northern California Interfaith Committee on Corporate Responsibility (NC-ICCR); Walt Spevak, South Africa Catalyst Project; and Randy Stallings, Unitarian-Universalist Service Committee. The minutes say the meeting gathered over brown bag supper at 6 P.M., and a pooling of information on what's been in the media on the Bank Campaign since our last general meeting; .Jody Parsons agreed to serve as chairperson for this meeting. The minutes says this working group met March 9 and focused mainly on an upcoming opportunity, the Bank of America Annual Meeting to be held in Los Angeles on April 25; a stockholder's resolution calling for no more loans to South Africa will be presented at the B of A meeting and some of our people plan to go there in support of it. NC-ICCR is planning a news conference for April 24 in Los Angeles; there is a possibility of a demonstration by Chile and South Africa support groups, but we know of no firm plans as of yet; it was recommended that a demonstration should take place in San Francisco at that time either in front of B of A headquarters or in front of the Market and Powell branch, as well as a news conference to include spokespersons from major organizations here which have taken steps to withdraw funds from local banks or to question them on their South African involvement. The minutes says planning an action for June 16, a national "day of withdrawal" was left undecided by this group, although student groups at various campuses are reported to be active on day of withdrawal plans; this Group was hampered by a lack of clearness as to what can be accomplished and who is available and willing to take responsibility; the next meeting of the Mobilization Working Group will be March 23, 7:30 P.M, at Mary Richardson's, 125 Lyon, San Francisco. The minutes say distribution of our organizer's packets continues and a number have been sold at $1.00 @; there is need to follow up and inquire how these are being used; our last mailing, which included samples of the "Statement of Agreement" with the campaign's goals and objectives, along with minutes of our last meeting, has not yet shown results; there was general agreement that we need a brochure with a broader based appeal than our present one and in a much simplified form. The minutes say more persons are needed to take on the publicity function; this group can produce a variety of items, i.e., write news magazine · articles or short blurbs for major periodicals, public service announcements for radio and TV.; it can obtain a list of editorials coming up, so that we can prepare public responses. The minutes says in response to questions in regard to the use of our slide show, we learned it has been shown three times on the Berkeley Campus and has been scheduled for showing to a high school group; there is need to have several copies for easy availability, and these would cost $65 per duplication. Our one copy is now available for rental on a sliding scale; Walt Spevak, who has done much of the work on revising the show to focus on California Banks, received several suggestions for modification; Corliss Bell and Bonnie Colton both expressed concern that it show clearly that the resistance of Black Africans is growing, that there is great strength in that resistance. The minutes discuss the Mobilization Working Group, the Finance Group, Bob DeGrass, the UAW (United Auto Workers), ILWU, Amalgamated Clothing Workers, Sharon Farrell, the Coalition on Human Needs, Taxes and Military Spending, WILPF (Women's International League for Peace and Freedom), the Committee to overturn the Bakke Decision, Stanford YWCA, NAACP, the Campaign for Economic Democracy, the South Africa Catalyst Project, Berkeley Citizen Action, Friends of the Earth, CHAIN, the San Francisco Housing Coalition, United Neighborhoods in Action, the Citizens Action League, Black Women Organized for Action, the Black Panther Party, E. Oakland Black Clergy, Student Unions, the League of Women Voters, Black Student Unions, Cecil Williams, the Northern California Ecumenical Council, the Commission of Social Justice of the San Francisco Archdiocese, Flatlands Fathers and Sisters, Major Superiors of Men and Women, the Dutch Reformed, and the Northern California Council of Rabbis.