South Africa Codes for Investors: correspondence and reports, 1993 March - 1992 January

The records of The Africa Fund's projects cover several aspects of social developments in southern Africa and are of interest for the study of education, health, civil, and human rights campaigns in the region. The files encompass various projects or programs undertaken by the organization and consist of extensive correspondence, as well as brochures, manuscripts, news clippings, reports, and publications. The bulk of the project files range from 1988-2000 and are organized alphabetically by project name or program. Additionally there are a limited amount of photographs and post cards to be found within files.

Main topics include: civil rights, economic and social development, education, women's rights, Africa's debt, child labor issues, immigration, and health care issues

Of note are a small number of Africa Peace Tours files (1992-1987) consisting of correspondence, brochures, reports, guides, and financial records. Organized by the Africa Peace Committee, a coalition of twelve social justice and community development organizations, the Africa Peace Tours sponsored several political campaigns and grassroots tours to address public education on war and militarism in Africa. These files address the inhumane conditions on the African continent and the efforts made by the committee to inform audiences about how warfare and militarism created major obstacles to combating hunger and poverty in Africa. One item of interest is the signed proclamation of Africa Peace Tour Day 1988, in which the mayor of the city of Houston, Texas Kathryn J. Whitmire declared Wednesday, April 13, 1988 as Africa Peace Tour Day.

The African National Congress (ANC) files (1995-1980), include correspondence in reference to funding projects, which contributed to the work of the ANC in meeting the educational and cultural needs of young South Africans who were forced into exile. From the exile, a school opened in honor of Solomon Mahlangu. Of interest are a small number of photographs from the Solomon Mahlangu Freedom College and the opening of the ANC/Holland Solidarity Hospital, dated May 1, 1984.

The South African Doll Project files (1993-1996) include brochures, correspondence, financial records and news clippings regarding the organizations' concerted effort to collect 15,000 black dolls for poor children living in various South African townships. African children in community centers living in the townships from Johannesburg to Cape Town received dolls and toys that reflect their physical appearance in hope to help develop positive self-esteem. The project was initiated by the Friends of Ikamva Labantu-USA, which means "the future of our nation and people" and operated as a grassroots-driven and direct development organization and as an umbrella for 461 day care centers for more than 40,000 children.

The Africa Fund's Individual Projects files encompass materials that document individual sponsored projects to further the goals of the anti-apartheid movement. The files consist of correspondence, project descriptions and applications, and summaries for individuals seeking funding or support for their programs. Additionally, there are limited brochures, news clippings, and photographs. Most of the individual projects are from artists, authors, and other supporters of the mission of The Africa Fund. One South African artist of interest is Mhlaba Zwelidumile Mgxaji Feni, popularly known as Dumile Feni, one of Africa’s great contemporary artists and a member of the ANC. Due to his opposition to apartheid, Feni spent five years in a South African prison who the minority regime forced into exile in 1968. Of note in the files is a photograph of Feni completing a portrait of Nelson Mandela as part of the Pathfinder Mural Project in New York.

The Africa Funds Labor Desk Project files (1997-1991) include extensive correspondence, conference materials, and news clippings documenting South Africa's development of a strong and independent labor movement. The project’s goal centered on providing a range of resources to grassroots activists dedicated to expanding communications between South Africa and United States labor organizations. Established in 1991, the project goals were to collaborate with active South African and international unions and anti-apartheid labor committees to promote solidarity in the struggle against economic exploitation and racism.

Of interest are the Literature Project files that focused on education efforts and distributed basic literature on Africa in the United States and assisted in the production of The Africa Fund's Southern Africa Literature List that local and international activists received.

The project files contain a range of materials highlighting efforts in the country of Namibia and include the Namibia Election Project that focused on ensuring free and fair elections and to bring democracy and independence to Namibia. The files contain correspondence, an election manual, news clippings, and reports. An item of interest is a draft copy of the democratic Constitution that Namibia adopted before it gained its independence from South Africa. The Constitution of the Republic of Namibia provides for an extensive bill of rights that includes regular parliamentary elections, freedom of speech, and an independent judiciary. Additionally, the Namibia Information Project, a major educational and information campaign, focused on the dissemination of articles throughout the United States. Publications, such as Dateline: Namibia, were created to reach the United States media and other concerned citizens.

The Namibia project files also address the issues of land, just wages, mining, education, environment, and health in post-colonial Namibia. Of note in these files are copies of a general pamphlet on U.S. corporate involvement in the devastation of Namibia's wealth. The pamphlet, titled, Namibia's Stolen Wealth: North American Investment and South African Occupation (1982) by Gail Hovey, Research Director of The Africa Fund, and Sean Macbride, the former UN Commissioner for Namibia, places the activities of U.S. economic interests in the context of Namibia's new economy.

Nigeriaproject files highlight the humanitarian efforts of The Africa Fund to assist with healthcare, education, and human rights concerns, including the Nigerian Human Rights Project that the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation funded in 1999. This Nigerian democracy and human rights organization focused on public education programs along with peaceful and inclusive democratic elections. The main goals centered on offering a dialog among the leaders of the Niger Delta communities, major American and European oil companies operating in the region, and senior officials of the Nigerian government. Within the Nigeria files are correspondence, reports, press releases, news clippings, and project proposals.

Of interest are the Walter Sisulu History Project (2000- 1991) files, which focus on interviews of Walter Sisulu, the Secretary-General of the African National Congress in 1949. George Houser and Herbert Shore in South Africa conducted 30 hours of interviews between 1995 and 1997 and compiled them to create a memoir of Sisulu's life. The project files include the draft manuscript for the book, I Will Go Singing: Walter Sisulu Speaks of His Life and the Struggle for Freedom in Southern Africa, In Conversation with George M. Houser and Herbert Shore (Cape Town: Robben Island Museum, 1991). The files also contain correspondence and financial records.

Walter Sisulu Trip / The Africa Fund 25th Anniversary Project files comprise extensive correspondence relating to the planning and implementation of the organization's 25th Anniversary in 1991. Serving as the Deputy President of the African National Congress, Walter Sisulu and his wife Albertina became the guests of honor for the celebration. For the anniversary, Walter Sisulu delivered the first annual lecture on the future of Africa sponsored by The Africa Fund. The files include biographies; brochures; financial records; invitations to the programs’ opening reception; list of donors; list of African Ambassadors who attended the events; and draft speeches and statements that Walter Sisulu, Tilden LeMelle, and former New York Mayor, David N. Dinkins delivered.

Of note are the records of The Africa Fund's South Africa Election Watch Project. The South Africa Election Watch Projectencompasses correspondence and records pertaining to the first democratic election in South Africa, which was scheduled for April 27, 1994. The Africa Fund launched this campaign to assist supporters in raising funds in educating first time voters on the electoral process. The electoral race of a new president of post-apartheid South Africa also solicited American supporters to help inspire and energize the campaign by becoming election watchers to advocate for democracy. Within these files are correspondence, news clippings, and reports. Items of interests are photographs of former New York rap group Stetsasonic and study guides to accompany their recording of the song "A.F.R.I.C.A." The musicians used rap as a medium to teach inner city youth about Africa, politics and geography of southern Africa, and to bring the injustice of apartheid alive.

South Africa Now project provides correspondence, reports, news clippings, photographs, and financial records for producing this television news program. From 1988-1991, The Africa Fund sponsored a weekly half hour long non-profit public television news program, South Africa Now that Globalvision produced. South Africa Now aimed to televise original news reports, fair and balanced news analysis, and cultural coverage and developments in southern Africa. The project also aimed to train South Africans with television and journalism skills, providing an avenue to communicate their story without restrictions from South African police officials.

South Africa Today: Educator's Trip is a small section of the project files, which highlights The Africa Fund’s efforts to provide educational assistance for twelve upper elementary and secondary school teachers and supervisors from urban schools in the United States. As a collaboration project of The Africa Fund and the Phelps Stokes Fund, the program goals involved, providing a five-week, in-depth curriculum development field study in South Africa. From July to August 1995, educators participated in first-hand experience of the progress and problems towards economic sufficiency and citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa. With their experience, the educators were charged to strengthen their skills in analyzing information, print media, and to revise and disseminate curriculum materials about Africa for instruction. Files comprise correspondence, list of participants and participants' applications, along with reports and project descriptions.

A significant portion of the collected records consist of the State and Local Projects files, encompassing 6.67 linear feet that documents The Africa Fund's efforts to establish a program to increase direct involvement of state and municipal officials with United States policy toward Africa, including developing a team of spokespeople who campaigned for the cancellation of Africa's debt. Funded by the Carnegie Corporation, the project focused on areas of economic and social development, women's health rights, child labor issues, immigration, and overall health of African people. U.S. legislators were also encouraged to employ their political influence at the national level. Within the files are extensive correspondence between U.S. officials and the fund's Executive Director Jennifer Davis regarding a U.S. visit of three southern African women legislators in April 1996; correspondence inviting major U.S. city mayors to the Southern Regional Consultation on U.S. Policy Toward Africa at Bennett College in Greensboro, North Carolina, on June 26-27, 1998; and a limited amount of reports, news clippings, and photographs.

The Unlock Apartheid's JailsCampaignfiles document the campaign for the release of detainees and political prisoners in South Africa. Initiated by The Africa Fund, the Unlock Apartheid's Jails was a consciousness-raising campaign aimed to increase awareness on the experiences of political prisoners in South Africa and how the results of the country's political policies unjustly arrested, detained, and toured black citizens. Other documents in the files consist of letters from political prisoners that were written to supporters from the African National Congress; correspondence relating to the political prisoners' hunger strike; and financial records documenting funds received from campaign supporters. In addition, the files include lists of detainees, extensive correspondence, press clippings, and some photographs. Of interest are the petitions and collection of "keys" that symbolized the demand to release political prisoners. Campaigners from local groups, schools, trade unions, and churches collected over 30,000 keys and petitions from most of the 50 states and presented them to the South African Consulate in New York City in 1986. Television personality and comedian, Bill Cosby was the honorary chairman of the campaign.

A small amount of Women's Project files highlight women's liberation struggles in southern Africa. Established in October 1992, The Africa Fund Women's Project expanded connections between U.S. women and southern African women by providing briefings, information, and network-building. The goal of the project was to support women's empowerment, provide educational information and resources on topics they requested, and identify specific areas of concern where supporters can advocate for women in southern Africa. Of interest is a booklet, A Woman's Place is in the Struggle Not Behind Bars (May 1988), published by The Africa Fund. The booklet details southern Africa women under repression, women's experiences in detention, and women in political trials.

The project files conclude with Zimbabwe Projects that detail the work and efforts for building health programs, housing, and food supplies in Zimbabwe. Records included are correspondence and medical requisition forms, brochures, and lists for medical resources. The files also comprise student publications and reports.