The American Committee on Africa

The American Committee on Africa 0 198 Broadway e New York, N.Y. 10038 * (212) 962-1210 M. William Howard, President Elizabeth Landis, Vice President Jennifer Davis, Executive Director Nelson Handela Addresses Key Anti-Apartheid Activists Keep the Pressure On EMBARGO UNTIL FRIDAY PM For more information or quotes from participants call: Paul Irish - (212) 962-1210 Richard Knight - (212) 683-4988 New York, NY June 22 . Nelson Mandela addressed key grass roots anti-apartheid activists June 22 at the National Activist Briefing held at Community Church in Manhattan. This group of 150 anti-apartheid activists from 60 cities was chosen on the basis of their past solidarity work and their ability to mobilize their constituencies for the coming campaign to retain U.S. sanctions. Jennifer Davis, the initiator of the conference and a leader in the national anti-apartheid movement, stated, "Nelson Mandela's release is a victory, but we must continue the fight until he and all South Africans can vote." The conference gave U.S. activists a chance to meet with top ANC leaders and provided the ANC leadership with an insight into the broad anti-apartheid movement in the U.S. Along with Nelson Mandela, the ANC delegation included Thomas Nkobi, ANC Treasurer; Sister Bernard Ncube, of South African national women's organization; and Chris Dlamini, Vice President of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. The National Activist Briefing met as the Bush administration is attempting to lift sanctions against South Africa. The activists at the Briefing will be key in the fight to keep the economic pressure on South Africa until there is democracy. The activists represented community-based church, labor, student and civil rights organizations which have been instrumental in leading South African sanctions and Page 2 divestment campaigns on the local, state and federal level. They are the frontline of the movement. They draft the resolutions, organize the rallies and make the lobbying visits to City Hall and Congress that are at the heart of the anti-apartheid organizing in the U.S. Their efforts have already led to the withdrawal of hundreds of U.S. corporations from South Africa and to the override of Ronald Reagan's veto of U.S. sanctions in 1986. To date 26 states, 19 counties and 83 cities have taken action against companies that do business in South Africa. This event was initiated by Jennifer Davis, Executive Director of the American Committee on Africa, in consultation with the ANC's chief U.S. representative Lindiwe Mabuza. ACOA is a national anti-apartheid organization formed in 1953 that has led the drive for divestment and sanctions. The Briefing steering committee also includes: Aubrey McCutcheon, Executive Director of the Washington D.C. based Washington Office on Africa, a national lobbying organization formed in 1972; Prexy Nesbitt, a key individual involved in the anti-apartheid movement for the last twenty years; Jerry Herman, who directs the AFSC's network of regional southern Africa activists; Gay McDougall, director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Southern Africa program; Randall Robinson, Executive Director of TransAfrica, the black American lobby on Africa and the Caribbean; and Cleveland Robinson, Secretary-Treasurer of District 65 UAW and a leading trade union anti-apartheid activist. Community Church was chosen as a venue for this event because the ANC's first office in the U.S. was housed here. The American Committee on Africa was formed in 1953 to support the African National Congress's Defiance Campaign, led at that time by Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. ACOA has spearheaded the drive to end U.S. investment in South Africa, leading the campaign for divestment and selective purchasing measures at the state and municipal level and to pass sanctions legislation in Congress. END.

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