S. Africa divestment wins
1988 1988-11Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 10 →
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CINCINNATI-On Sept. 27, 1988, University of Cincinnati President Joseph A. Steger announced the total divestiture of all the university's holdings in companies that do business in South Africa. These holdings were in 28 different companies and represented about $10 billion—or 8 percent of the school's total endowment.
There have been demonstrations and meetings on the campus for several years to protest the investment policies dictated by in 1985.
The latest decision to totally divest was the result of a one-year-long campaign that began with a small but spirited demonstration on Nov. 24, 1987. That demonstration, along with a successful petition drive, made divestment a major political issue on the campus.
Several racist incidents on the campus added fuel to the divestm ent movement. These incidents, coupled w ith the results of a study that revealed that one-half of the minority workforce at the university perceived discrimination, put the school administration on the spot.
They couldn't continue their stance of purportedly defending minority rights in Cincinnati, while closing their eyes to apartheid racism in South Africa.
The locally based Anti-Intervention Coalition, which initiated the divestment activities last year, is no longer in existence. But its success should not go unnoticed. This kind of broad-based group can keep the issue of South Africa alive. Divestment is only a small step toward the liberation of the Black majority in that country.
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the Board of Trustees. The protest move- ment forced a partial "selective" divestment