African Activist Archive

Letter to Board members from Executive Secretary Allen Isaacman. Reporting on ACAS panel at the African Studies Association (ASA), Isaacman says the panel attracted about 150 Africanists; Ted Lockwood gave a powerful critique of Regan's Africa policy, and Isaacman outlined the short-term and long-term projects of ACAS. The response was a mixture of enthusiasm, because people were feeling that something must be done, and skepticism, because of ACAS's mixed track record. More than 150 people signed our mailing list and received our membership letter. One positive suggestion from the meeting was that we organize local groups who would work on self-defined projects within the broad ACAS guidelines, giving democratic decentralization and local initiative which ACAS badly needs. A second proposal was to urge ACAS to write to the major map makers protesting their inclusion of former Spanish Sahara as an integral part of Morocco and depicting the Bantustans as independent countries. The third suggestion was to aid the Wolpe campaign both financially and with people willing to work on his campaign. Isaacman and Anne Schneller agreed that the Michigan group (Anne, Dave Robinson, Dave Wiley, M. Bratton and Bill Derman) will do final editing of the newsletter. Short analytical articles (500-1000 words) are needed, along with discussions of actions and campaigns, summaries of documents, and bibliographical material. There will be a minimum of three newsletters. For the February issue, Robinson has agreed to write a major piece examining the DIA affair, and Richard Lapchick will be asked to write a 1000-word piece on the Rugby Campaign. The second issue may focus on Polisario and the former Spanish Sahara. The September issue might highlight the ACAS panels at the forthcoming ASA meetings. We still need to try and arrange for some ACAS presence at ASHA meetings and to begin to plan for an ACAS panel at the next ASA meeting, which Nzongola Ntalaja is organizing.

African Activist Archive

[Dear Bill, Just a short note to letter you know how well our ACAS "gathering" went at the A.S.A. conference.]

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