The leaflet says Rev. Allan Boesak, moderator of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church of South Africa and a leader in the church-based nonviolent resistance to apartheid, will visit Providence, Rhode Island, on June 4, with Jim Wallis, of the Sojourners Community in Washington, D.C. Their trip is part of "From Pentecost to Soweto" (May 14 to June 17), a national religious campaign aimed at ending U.S. support of the apartheid regime in South Africa. In Providence, events on the theme "Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope: Montgomery ... Soweto ...Providence," will address the dual issues of apartheid in South Africa and racism in the U.S. The theme was chosen to reflect the interrelatedness of Montgomery...
The leaflet says Rev. Allan Boesak, moderator of the Dutch Reformed Mission Church of South Africa and a leader in the church-based nonviolent resistance to apartheid, will visit Providence, Rhode Island, on June 4, with Jim Wallis, of the Sojourners Community in Washington, D.C. Their trip is part of "From Pentecost to Soweto" (May 14 to June 17), a national religious campaign aimed at ending U.S. support of the apartheid regime in South Africa. In Providence, events on the theme "Pilgrimage of Pain and Hope: Montgomery ... Soweto ...Providence," will address the dual issues of apartheid in South Africa and racism in the U.S. The theme was chosen to reflect the interrelatedness of Montgomery (Rosa Parks and the bus boycott which launched Martin Luther King's career as a civil rights activist), Soweto (the black township In Johannesburg where police fired upon a demonstration of 20,000 students on June 16, 1976, setting off a series of strikes, marches, and boycotts), and Providence (where, as in other American cities, racial discrimination against people of color has denied them both political and economic power). Events will include (1) an Interfaith Service Sunday evening, June 4, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul; (2) an Anti-Apartheid/Anti-Racism Sabbath Weekend, June 2-4; (3) Prayer Vigil and Fast, June 2-4, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., ending on Sunday with a procession to the Interfaith Service at the Cathedral; and (4) Soweto Days, June 16 and 17, in Washington, D.C., ending the national "From Pentecost to Soweto" campaign. The leaflet advertises three vigils: at the Federal Building in downtown Providence; on Main Street in Pawtucket--outside the offices of the three members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation not currently committed to stronger U.S. sanctions against South Africa; and at Brown University, which continues to hold investments in companies doing business with South Africa. It also publicizes activities in Washington, D.C.: lobbying at the U.S. Senate for comprehensive sanctions, evening ecumenical service, rally at the Washington Monument, and a march to the White House. The leaflet discusses nonviolent civil disobedience.
