The press release says South African poet Dennis Brutus will speak on October 11 in the Roosevelt Hotel about the denial of his H-1 (temporary) visa renewal by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS indicated that Brutus' position as a tenured professor at Northwestern University contradicted his request for a temporary stay visa. Brutus was being accused of affiliation with the Communist Party; under South African law, "affiliation" refers to anyone who actively contradicts South African apartheid policies. The press conference is co-sponsored by the Freedom to Write Committee of PEN American Center and the Dennis Brutus Defense Committee (DBDC). The Freedom to Write Committee...
The press release says South African poet Dennis Brutus will speak on October 11 in the Roosevelt Hotel about the denial of his H-1 (temporary) visa renewal by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. The INS indicated that Brutus' position as a tenured professor at Northwestern University contradicted his request for a temporary stay visa. Brutus was being accused of affiliation with the Communist Party; under South African law, "affiliation" refers to anyone who actively contradicts South African apartheid policies. The press conference is co-sponsored by the Freedom to Write Committee of PEN American Center and the Dennis Brutus Defense Committee (DBDC). The Freedom to Write Committee works on behalf of free expression around the world and protests forced exile, imprisonment, or murder of writers. The DBDC was formed to protest the decision to deny Brutus a visa and is appealing to the Department of Justice to reverse this decision. Brutus is a distinguished poet, academic, and activist who was exiled from South Africa for protesting that country's racist policies. He has been active in the fight for liberation of the South African peoples both in South Africa - where he was imprisoned for his activities against racism in sport - and internationally, including appearances before the United Nations and Congressional Committees in Washington, D.C. Brutus' activities against racism in sport contributed to the expulsion of South Africa and Rhodesia from international events, including the Olympic games. Brutus is active in The Coloured People's Congress and The Non-Racial Olympics Committee and is chairman of the International Campaign Against Racism in Sport (ICARIS). Joining Brutus at the press conference will be Chauncey Bailey, Director of the Black Press Institute; Jan Carew, Professor of Afro-American Studies at Northwestern University; Arthur Serota, an attorney; and Ellen Binder, Associate Coordinator of the PEN Freedom to Write Committee. They will speak about Brutus' case and the eased relations between the U.S. and South African governments and also about the McCarren-Walter Act, the section of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that excludes visitors and emigrants from entering the U.S. because of their ideas or political affiliations.
